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Bio Spring Study Guide
Bio Spring Study Guide
Genetics
1) Codominance - both alleles of a gene contribute to the phenotype. Erminette chickens have
speckled black and white feathers. The alleles are given subscripts or superscripts.
Incomplete Dominance - the phenotype is a combination of the two alelles, ie a blending of what two
homozygous organisms would look like.
2) Dihybrid crosses predict the alleles for two traits in offspring. Each of the different possible
gametes (up to four) creates a new row or column. Ex:
• AaBb allows for AB, Ab, aB, and ab gametes.
• AABB can only produce AB gametes.
If both parents' are heterozygous, offspring are found in the ratio
1:2:1:2:4:1:2:1:2 genoytpically and 9:3:3:1 phenotypically.
3) Pedigrees are 'family trees' and show heritage of traits. Generations are listed as roman
numerals (I, II, III, IV) and individuals are named from left to right as numbers (1, 2, 3, 4).
Females are circles and males are squares. Afflicted individuals are shaded in black. Sometimes
carriers will be half shaded (ex. hemophilia) but DON'T have the disease, since it is recessive.
How to Determine:
• Recessive Traits
-If neither parent has the trait but at least one offspring does.
-Most likely, there will be more people that do not have the trait.
• Dominant Traits
-If a parent is homozygous for the trait and passes it to all his offspring.
Remember, people linked via marriage (a horizontal line) in later generations are not part of the
same family as people above them in the tree. Ew incest.
4) A trait can be controlled by multiple alleles if there are more than 2 possible forms of a gene.
The organism still only has two alleles. Codominance and incomplete dominance can still
occur. Ex:
Human blood type is controlled by the codominant alleles A and B , and recessive allele O.
Polygenic traits are controlled my more than one gene and show a wide range of phenotypes.
The color of pigment in a fly's eye is controlled by three different genes.
5) X-linked traits are controlled by genes on the X chromosome. These traits, like hemophillia
and colorblindness, are sex linked and hereditary. These traits are more common in males, since
they only have one X chromosome. Recessive X-linked traits are less common in females
because they require both parents to have to carry the allele. Females are carriers if they are
heterozygous but do not have the trait.
Remember, females pass an X chromosome on regardless of gender.
6) Genes on the same chromosome are said to be linked. These genes create ratios that differ from
standard Mendelian ratios. Crossing over occurs during prohase I.
Linked genes cannot cross over, limiting the variety of gametes.
The above only results in two gametes (abcde and
ABCDE) instead of 32 if all 5 genes were on different
chromosomes. Since a parent passes down one out of each pair
of chromosomes, genes on the same chromosome stay together.
Crossing over results in a small percent of mixed
phenotypes (here, the last two genes of
each chromosome have crossed over).
The complete percentage of mixed
phenotypes is the cross over
frequency. This is related to the distance between genes on
chromosomes, measured in map units.
Without crossing over, crossing two hybrid organisms results in
a 3:1 ratio of completely dominant to completely recessive
phenotypes. Suppose green peas and smooth pods were dominant to
yellow and wrinkled peas. Theoretically, breeding the two parents on
the right should produce 750 green, smooth peas and 250 yellow, wrinkled peas. With crossing over:
• Still 3:1 ratio of totally dominant : totally recessive proves
gene linkage
• 121 partially dominant/recessive shows crossing over has
occurred.
• Map units = the percent of partially dominant recessive
peas added together (and rounded). Here, it's ~12%, so the genes are 12 map units apart.
7) Hereditary Disorders can be passed down from generation to generation. It does not
necessarily have to be sex linked and can be autosomal, ex. Huntington's disease. That's it.
10) Hox genes control differentiation of cells and tissues in the embryo. They are similar among a
wide variety of species, from mice to flies to humans. May be proof that organisms once shared
a common ancestor.
11) Genetic engineering aims to make changes in the DNA of a living organism. Transgenic
Organisms are organisms that contain genes from other species. Recombiant DNA is DNA that
comes from multiple sources.
12) Medicine:
• Transgenic bacteria grow fast and are used to produce insulin for diabetics, HGH for
short people(I could use some), and clotting factors for hemophillia.
• Substances are mass produced cheaply. In the future, may be able to produce chemicals
for curing cancer and materials for synthetic plastic.
• Animals with human genes are used to study diseases on the human immune system.
Agriculture:
• GM animals increase food supply. Hormones allow animals to grow fast and produce
better meat.
• GM plants can produce a natural pesticide for weed killing. Also a possibility to create
antibodies, plastics, and rot-resistant.
13) a. DNA is extracted from a cell using chemicals.
b. DNA is cut using restriction enzymes that only cleaves a specific nucleotide sequence.
The resulting fragments are called restriction fragment length polymorphisms. (RFLP)
This also creates sticky ends on the two sides of the fragment.
c. Gel electrophoresis separates the DNA fragments. The negatively charged molecules
move towards the positive end of the gel. The smaller fragments will move farther down.
The fragments are ordered by length and can be compared.
d. Polymerase Chain Reaction- DNA fragment to be copied gets complementary DNA
attached to each end. These are called primers. DNA is heated to seperate the two
strands and polymerase makes copies of the region between the primers. Each new copy
also serves as a template to make more DNA.
e. Dye tagging allows a sequence to be read. 1 strand of DNA is placed in a test tube with
lots of nucleotides and DNA polymerase. The polymerase starts copying the DNA, while
some nucleotides have dyes attached to them. When a dye-tagged base is copied,
synthesis of that strand ends. The new fragments are run through gel electrophoresis and
the complements of the original strand can be read. (txtbook pg 324 for picture).
f. To put this DNA in another organism, a plasmid is extracted from a bacterium. The same
restriction enzyme is used on it, and the new DNA's stick ends allow it to attach to the
cut plasmid. It is then put back into the bacterium. For plants, the tumor inducing gene in
a bacteria is replaced with the desired DNA fragment, and the bacterium is then allowed
to infect plant cells.
14) People with similar DNA will have it cut in similar places by restriction enzymes. These
create pieces of similar lengths that are apparent when run through gel electrophoresis
15) DNA Fingerprint- the difference in base pairs between every individual allows them to be
identified by their DNA. Is useful in court and criminal justice fields.
16)
• Plasmid- circular ring of DNA found in some bacteria. Good for transferring DNA to
new cells.
• Vector- agent used to transfer DNA to another cell.
• Recombinant- DNA for multiple sources.
• Electrophoresis – Using gel and electric voltage to order DNA fragments by length.
17) A transgenic organism has DNA that comes from multiple sources.
18) A clone is a genetically identical cell or organism produced from a single cell. First, the
nucleus of an egg cell is removed, since an egg cell is already programmed to develop into a
fetus. The cell is fused with a donor nucleus from another adult cell using electric shock. Once
the cell starts to divide, it is placed in the uterus of a foster mother. The new organism is the
clone from which the donor nucleus came. This process fails a lot.