Unit 4 Mixed Flashcards
What is the advantage of preventing self-pollination
Increases genetic variation and so increases the chances of survival of the species as it can adapt to a changing environment
Why is an even number of chromosomes needed to make a species fertile
Homologous pairs and bivalents can form during prophase 1 of meiosis and so gametes can be produced
Intron
Non coding region of DNA
is spliced out and not translated
Exon
Coding regions which are translated for a polypeptide
What are the potential problems of using a virus in gene therapy
Can cause an immune response
May not reach the target cell
May become pathogenic
May affect other genes - oncogenes
What are the disadvantages of using a molecular patch to treat DMD
• it is not permanent and so repeated treatments are needed
• the change is not present after cell replication and so is not passed onto next generation
Ethical issues of germ line therapy
• unknown long term effects
• possible activation of oncogenes
• the modified genes are passed onto the next generation and so will effect later generations
Antigen
Innates an immune response and the production of antibodies
What is an antigen-antibody complex
When a specific antibody is bound to an antigen
How can the sperm enter the secondary oocyte
Acrosome reaction
The acrosome releases hydrolytic enzymes such as proteases which hydrolyse the corona radiata and zona pellucide
How is polyspermy prevented
Cortical reaction
The cortical granules rupture and the zona pellucida thickens and hardens to form the fertilisation membrane
Continuous variation
Polygenic
Imtermediates
Discontinuous variation
Monogenic
Distinct groups
How does natural selection work
• variation is caused due to mutations
• some mutations will confer a selective advantage
• individuals with selective advantage is more likely to survive and reproduce and pass on advantageous alleles to offspring
• this is repeated over several generations and the allele frequency of the advantageous allele will increase
Sympatric speciation
Non-geographical barriers
Allopatric speciation
Geographical barriers
How do isolation barriers work
• prevent the gene flow
• genetic differences will accumulate and so they can no longer produce fertile offspring
Umbilical artery
Carries blood away from foetus
Contains carbon dioxide, urea
Umbilical vein
Carries blood to the foetus
Contains oxygen, nutrients and antibodies
Ethics of prenatal diagnosis
• more selective abortions
• moral status of the foetus
• may cause harm to foetus
• may give a false negative
Conditions required for germination and why
• water - cause cotyledons to swell and to dissolve substances to act as a fluid medium for enzymes
• oxygen - for aerobic respiration to produce ATP for metabolism
• suitable temperature- to increase rate of diffusion and to increase enzyme activity
Germination of non-endospermic seeds
• endosperm has been absorbed into cotyledons
• amylase digest starch in the cotyledons to maltose
• proteins and fats are also broken down into amino acids, fatty acids and glycerol
• these move into the plumule and radicle and are used for cell division for growth
Germination of endospermic seed
• starch, proteins and fats are in the endosperm
• the embryo produces gibberellin which moves into the aleurone layer
• the GA causes enzymes to break down proteins into amino acids which are used to synthesise other proteins such as amylase which breaks down starch in the endosperm into maltose
What is gene therapy
The treatment of genetic disease by replacing defective alleles in a patient with copies of a new DNA sequence
Somatic cell therapy
• therapeutic genes are transferred into somatic cells
• the modification and effects are restricted to the individual only and cannot be passed on through gametes
• DNA is introduced into the target cells by a vector such as plasmid or virus
Germ line therapy
• sperm or egg is modified
• allows therapy to be heritable
• rare due to ethical and technical reasons
Gene therapy to treat Duchenne muscular dystrphy
Use of the drug disapersen
Exon skipping - a molecular patch is introduced over the exon with the mutation which makes the gene readable again
• a shorter form of dystrophin is produced but it is more functiona
What is tissue engineering
The study of growth of new connecting tissues or organs from cells and a collagenous scaffold to produce a fully functional organ for implantation back into the donor host
Scaffolds used in tissue engineering
• artificial structures that support 3D tissues
• allow cells to attach and move
• deliver and retain cells and biological molecules
• are porous to allow diffusion of nutrients and waste
• biodegradable and can be adsorbed by the surrounding tissues
What is a stem cell
An undifferentiated cell capable of dividing to give rise to daughter cells which can develop into different types of specialised cell or remain as undifferentiated stem cells
Sources of stem cells
Embryos and bone marrow
Embryonic stem cells
Totipotent so can differentiate into all types of cells
Adult stem cells
Pluripotent so cannot differentiate into all types of cells
What is recombinant DNA
DNA produced by combining DNA from 2 different species
What are restriction enzymes
Bacterial enzymes that cut up any foreign DNA that enters a cell
Cut is staggered with short, single-stranded fragments called sticky ends at either ends
How to a gene inserted into a plasmid using restriction enzymes
- Bacterial plasmid contains 2 marker genes (one for ampicillin resistance and the other that is rendered non-functional if DNA is successfully inserted into it)
- Plasmid is cut open using a restriction enzyme
- Foreign DNA is cut with the same restriction enzyme to ensure complementary sticky ends
- DNA is inserted using DNA ligase which joins the sugar backbone of the 2 sections of the DNA together
- Ensure bacteria have a plasmid with a donor gene
Preparing a fragment of DNA containing a human gene using reverse transcriptase
- Reverse transcriptase produces a complimentary or cDNA from a mENA template
- A human regulator sequence which controls gene expression is replaced by a bacterial regulator and so the cDNA is inserted
- Once expressed in bacterial cells the insulin can be purified for use
What problems does producing cDNA overcome
• locating the gene
• restriction enzymes cutting the gene into non-functional fragments
• the presence of introns as prokaryotes dont have introns
• the need for post-transcriptional processing to produce functional mRNA
Advantages of genetically engineered bacteria
• allows for the production of complex proteins or peptides which cant be made by other methods
• can be used to produce medicinal products such as insulin
Disadvantages of genetically engineered crops
• is complicated and expensive
• can be hard to indentify genes in a genome
• the synthesis of a required protein may involve many genes each coding for a polypeptide
• using restriction enzymes produces millions of non-useful fragments
• not all eukaryotic genes will express themselves in a prokaryotic cell
Hazards of genetically engineered bacteria
• bacteria can readily exchange DNA and so antibiotic resistance could be transferred to pathogens
• the possible transfer of oncogenes
Advantages of GM crops
• better keeping qualities
• higher yield due to the increased growth rates, improved nutritional value, ease of management, tolerance of unfavourable conditions
• less pesticide use due to resistance of pathogens and insects
Disadvantages of GM crops
• genetic contamination - herbicide resistance could spread to wild relatives and form superweeds
• misuse of pesticides
• corporations controlling agriculture
Hazards of GM crops
• reduces biodiversity by changing natural gene pools
• there are unknown effects of eating new protein
Advantages of stem cells
• can be produced quickly and on a large scale
• produces genetically identical cells for transplant which reduces the risk of rejection
Disadvantages of stem cells
• expensive and unreliable
• unknown long term effects
• inadvertent selection of disadvantageous alleles
Ethics of stem cells
• an embryo mist be destroyed to obtain the cells
• may be used for non-medical purposes
State the function of the tapetum
Provides nutrients for the developing pollen
Provides a waterproof outer coat for the pollen grains
Function of tube nucleus in growth of pollen tube
Controls the pollen tube
Controls the synthesis of hydrolytic enzymes