Unit 2 - KA2.3 Variation and Sexual Reproduction Flashcards
Give three disadvantages/costs of sexual reproduction
1 - Reproduction rate is much slower
2 - Males unable to produce offspring
3 - Successful parental genomes are disrupted as only half the genome is passed on
Give two disadvantages of needing males for sexual reproduction
1 - Males are unable to produce the offspring, so only half the population can reproduce
2 - Only half of each parent’s genome is passed on so disrupts successful parental genomes
List the three advantages of sexual reproduction
1 - Greater genetic variation
2 - Genetic variation allows sexually reproducing organisms a better chance of survival under changing selection pressures.
3 - Variation provides the raw material required to keep running in the Red Queen’s arms race between parasites and their hosts
List the three advantages of asexual reproduction
1 - Maintains the parent’s entire genome
2 - Advantage in re-colonising disturbed habitats
3 - Faster reproduction rates
Explain why maintaining the parental genome is an advantage in asexual reproduction.
In very narrow, stable niches it is advantageous as the offspring will be well adapted to this niche.
In what conditions is asexual reproduction beneficial?
1 - Very narrow and stable niche
2 - Recolonising disrupted habitats
Explain why the red queen hypothesis helps explain the persistence of sexual reproduction over time.
1 - Hosts better able to resist and tolerate parasitism have greater fitness.
2 - Parasites better able to feed, reproduce and find new hosts have greater fitness.
3 - If hosts reproduce sexually, the genetic variability in their offspring reduces the chances that all will be susceptible to infection by parasites
What are two examples of asexual reproduction in eukaryotes?
1 - Vegetative cloning in plants
2 - Parthenogenesis in some animals.
What is parthenogenesis?
Production of haploid offspring without needing males gametes to fertilise the female gamete.
Give conditions that parthenogenesis is common
1 - Cooler Climates
2 - Lower level of Parasitism
Name a mechanism used by bacteria to allow the exchange of genetic material between generations
Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT)
What is the diploid number of chromosomes for humans?
46
Give characteristics that are the same in homologous chromosomes
1 - Same size
2 - Same centromere position
3 - Same genes at the same loci
What is a gametocyte?
Diploid cells located in the sex organs that produce the male and female sex cells.
What happens in the first stage in meiosis I?
The chromosomes, which have replicated prior to meiosis I, each consist of two genetically identical chromatids attached at the centromere. The chromosomes condense and the homologous chromosomes pair up.
What happens in the second stage in meiosis I?
Chiasmata form at points of contact between the non-sister chromatids of a homologous pair and sections of DNA are exchanged
What happens during crossing over?
Chromosomes touch at chiasmata which allows exchanging of DNA with homologous partner. Chromosomes in the gametes can have new combinations of alleles than the parent genome.
What is the process that allows chromosomes in the gametes to have new combinations of alleles?
Recombination due to crossing over.
What happens in the third stage in meiosis I?
Spindle fibres attach to the homologous pairs and line them up at the equator of the spindle