topic 6- inheritance , variation and evolution Flashcards
what is DNA
deoxyribonuclei acid
found in the nucleus
the genetic material in the nucleus of a cell is composed of a chemical called DNA
DNAi is a polymer made up of 2 strands forming a double helix
the dna is contained in structures called chromosomes
what is a gene
it is a small section of your DNA on a chromosome
each gene codes for a particular sequence of amino acids to make a specific protein
only 20 amino acids are used to make thousands of different proteins
genes tells cells what order to put the amino acids together and what type of cell to make
what is a genome
the entire genetic material of that organism
why is understanding the genome important
allows scientists to identify the genes in the genome that is linked to different types of diseases
k woing what genes is linked to what inherited diseases to help develop treatments for it
use to treck migration patterns for humans in the past
structure of dna
DNA is a polymer made of t repeating nucleotide units
each nucleotide consists fo sugar , phosphate group and one base
DNA consists of 4 diiferent bases - A,C,G and T
each base llinks to a base on the opposite strand on the helix
complimentary base pairing
A WITH T
G WITH c
the order of bases ina gene decides the order of amino acinds in a protein
a sequence of 3 bases is the code for a particular amino acid
non coding
some parts of the dna dont code for proteins
some of them switch genes on and off
so they control whether a gene is expressed
how are proteins made
proteins are made in the cel, cytoplasm on the tiny structures called ribosomes
to make proteins,ribosomes use the code in the DNA [dna is found in the nucleus and cant move out of it because of its size ] so the cell needs to get the DNA to the ribsome , this is done using a molecule called mRNA [which is made by copying the code from DNA
the mRNA acts as a messanger between the DNA and the ribosome as it carries code betwwen the 2
the correct amino acids are brought to the ribosmones in the correct order by carrier molecules
types of proteins
enzymes - acts as a biological catalysts to speed up chemical reactions in the body
hormones - used to carry messages around the body
structural proteins - are physically strong eg collagen is a structural protein that strengthens connective tissue
what is mutation
a random change in an organisms DNA
can be inherited
mutations occurs continuously
most mutatins dont alter the protein and if altered it doesnt usually affect the function or appereance
does does mutation affect nono-coding DNA
it alters how genes are expressed
types of mutation
insertation
deletions
substitutions
deletions
this is when a random base is deleted from the DNA base sequence
they change the way the base sequence is ‘read’ and have knock on effects further down the sequence
substitution
when random base in the dna base sequence is changed to a different base
insertions
where a new base is inserted into the dna base sequence where it shouldnt be
insertation changes the way the groups are ‘read’ so it changes the amoni acids that they code for
insertion can change more than one amino acid as it has a knock on effect on the bases further down the sequence
what is sexual reproduction
when genetic information from two organisms are combined to produce offspring which are geneticaly different to either patient
the mother and the father produce gametes by meosis
gametes contain 23 chromosomes [half of the normal cell]
fertilisation
the egg cell and sprm cell come together to form a new cell with the full number of chromosomes
offsprings receive a mixture of chromosomes from both parents esplaining why we inherit feturs from both of them
the mixture of genetic informtion produces variation in the offspring
asexual reproduction
there is only one parent so the offspring is genetically identical to the parent
asexual reproduction happens by mitosis
clone - the new cell has exactly the same genetic information as the parent cell
no fusion of gametes .no mixture of chromosomes and no gentic variation
e.g- bacteria,some plants and animals
meiosis
before a cell starts to divide it must duplicate its DNA
[forming exact 2 armed chromosomes ]
after the duplication the chromosomes arrange themselves in pairs
in the first divison -the chromosomes line up at the centre of the cell
the pair is then pulled apart to the new cell has one cpy of each chromosome[from both parents]
in the second divison- the chromosomes line up at the centre again and the arms are pulled apart
you get 4 gamates which are geneticvally different
advantages of sexual reproduction
produces variation in offspring
if the environment changes variation gives a survival advantage by natural selection
natural selection can be sped up by human in selective breeding to increase food production
advantages of asexual
only one parent needed
no mate needed so it is more time and energy efficent
faster than sexual reproduction
many offspring can be produced if conditions are favourable
examples of organisms that do both sexual and asexual
malaria parasites reproduce asexually in the human most but sexually in the mosquito
many fungi reproduce asexually by spores but also sexually to give variation
many plants produce seeds sexually but also reproduce asexually by runners such as strawberry plants or bulb division such as daffodis
What is a chromosome
A long molecule of DNA found in the nucleus
Each chromosome carries many genes
Allele
A alternative version of a gene
Dominant allele
The allele for the characteristic that’s shown by an organism
If two different alleles are present for that characteristic .