Classification,

Variation and
Inheritance
BIG IDEA:
Classification: Form of Identification

ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
Why do scientists need to classify organisms?
What is the importance of classification of living organism?

INTRODUCTION:
There are millions and millions of species, so classifying organisms
into proper categories can be a difficult task. To make it easier for all
scientists to do, a classification system had to be developed.

4.1 Binomial Classification

The evolution of life on Earth over the past 4 billion years has resulted
in a huge variety of species. For more than 2,000 years, humans have been
trying to classify the great diversity of life. The science of classifying
organisms is called taxonomy. Classification is an important step in
understanding the present diversity and past evolutionary history of life on
Earth.
All modern classification systems have their roots in the Linnaean
classification system. It was developed by Swedish botanist Carolus
Linnaeus in the 1700s. He tried to classify all living things that were known
at his time. He grouped together organisms that shared obvious physical
traits, such as number of legs or shape of leaves. For his contribution,
Linnaeus is known as the “father of taxonomy.”
The Linnaean system of classification consists of a hierarchy of
groupings, called taxa (singular, taxon). Taxa range from the kingdom to
the species. The kingdom is the largest and most inclusive grouping. It
consists of organisms that share just a few basic similarities. Examples are
the plant and animal kingdoms. The species is the smallest and most
exclusive grouping. It consists of organisms that are similar enough to
produce fertile offspring together. Closely related species are grouped
together in a genus.
 DICHOTOMOUS KEY
Used to identify organism wherein characteristics are given in pairs.
For example:
 4.2 Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)

WHAT LARGE ORGANIC MOLECULE HAS A SPIRAL SHAPE, AND MAY

BE THE MOST IMPORTANT MOLECULE TO LIFE?
Here’s a hint: molecules like this one determine who you are. They
contain genetic information that controls your characteristics. They
determine your eye color, facial features, and other physical attributes. What
molecule is it?
You probably answered “DNA.” Today, it is commonly known that DNA
is the genetic material. For a long time, scientists knew such molecules
existed. They were aware that genetic information was contained within
organic molecules. However, they didn’t know which type of molecules play
this role. In fact, for many decades, scientists thought that proteins were the
molecules that carry genetic information. In these concepts, you will learn
how scientists discovered that DNA carries the code of life.
It is your proteins that make a bone
cell act like a bone cell, a liver cell act like
a liver cell, or a skin cell act like a skin
cell. It is the proteins that perform the
functions of the cell, and of course, many
of those functions are specific for the
bone cell, liver cell, skin cell, or any other
type of cell. In other words, it is the
proteins that give an organism its traits.
We know that it is your proteins that
that make you tall or short, have light or
dark skin, or have brown or blue eyes.
But what tells those proteins how to act?
It is the structure of the protein that
determines its function. And it is the order
and type of amino acids that determine
the structure of the protein. And that
order and type of amino acids that make
up the protein are determined by your
DNA sequence.
 The relatively large chromosomes that never leave the nucleus are
made of DNA. And, as proteins are made on the ribosomes in the cytoplasm,
how does the information encoded in the DNA get to the site of protein
synthesis? That’s where RNA comes into this three-player act.

DNA → RNA → Protein

It is known as the central dogma of molecular biology. It states that
“DNA makes RNA makes protein.” Really it means that the genetic
information within DNA is used to make smaller molecules of RNA, which
leave the nucleus and then the genetic information in RNA is used to
assemble amino acids into proteins. But this process does start with DNA.
To understand the role of DNA in this process, it first had to be shown that
DNA is the genetic material.

Does DNA copy itself?

Yes, your DNA needs to copy
itself every time a new cell is
created. The new cell needs to
have DNA exactly like the rest of
your cells. Otherwise, that cell
might malfunction. That's why it's
important that the process of
copying DNA, called DNA
replication, is very accurate.

DNA REPLICATION
DNA must replicate (copy) itself so that each resulting cell after mitosis
and cell division has the same DNA as the parent cell. All these cells, the
parent cell and the two new daughter cells, are genetically identical.
DNA replication occurs during the S phase (the Synthesis phase) of
the cell cycle, before mitosis and cell division. The base pairing rules are
crucial for the process of replication. DNA replication occurs when DNA is
copied to form an identical molecule of DNA.
 4.4 Biological Processes

A. Cloning
Would you like to clone yourself?

Although it's illegal to clone

humans in the United States, it is
possible to clone many types of animals.
What might be the consequences if we
allowed human cloning?

Cloning is the process of creating an exact genetic replica of an

organism. The clone’s DNA is exactly the same as the parent’s DNA.
Bacteria and other single-celled organisms have long been able to clone
themselves through asexual reproduction. Plants can also reproduce
asexually. In animals, however, cloning does not happen naturally. In 1997,
that all changed when a sheep named Dolly was the first large mammal ever
to be successfully cloned. Other animals can now also be cloned in a
laboratory.

The process of producing an animal like Dolly starts with a single cell
from the animal that is going to be cloned. Below are the steps involved in
the process of cloning:

1. In the case of Dolly, cells from the mammary glands were taken from
the adult that was to be cloned. But other somatic cells can be used.
Somatic cells come from the body and are not gametes like sperm or
egg.
2. The nucleus is removed from this cell.
3. The nucleus is placed in a donor egg that has had its nucleus removed.
The nucleus must be removed from the donor egg to maintain the
appropriate chromosome number.
4. The new cell is stimulated with an electric shock and embryo
development begins, as if it were a normal zygote. The zygote is the
first cell of a new organism.
5. The resulting embryo is implanted into a mother sheep, where it
continue its development.
 B. Genetic Engineering

Once scientists recognized the

importance of DNA and how DNA
controlled the production of proteins, they
began to use this knowledge to solve
new problems. One problem that
scientists had to solve was how to get
DNA to make protein in the laboratory.
For example, the pancreas of a person
who has diabetes may not make insulin.
Insulin is a protein that helps the body
regulate the use of sugar.

Until the 1980s, a person with diabetes had to take artificial insulin that
was extracted from the body of a pig. But there were problems associated
with using nonhuman insulin. Now human insulin can be made in a
laboratory. The production of human insulin resulted from genetic
engineering.
The process of getting genes to produce their proteins in the laboratory
is called genetic engineering. Genetic engineering uses the quick
reproducing capabilities of certain types of cells, such as bacterial cells, to
make lots of copies of certain proteins, such as insulin. To do this, the genetic
engineer must put the DNA gene for the protein to be produced into the
bacteria in such a way that the bacteria will duplicate it. The new genetic
material in the bacteria is called recombinant DNA (or rDNA).

Role-Playing: Issues in Genetic Engineering

In groups of five, discuss the following question: Does scientific
research, especially in the area of genetics, always serve the best
interests of people?
Each person plays one of the following roles.
a. Geneticist
b. Ordinary person with little knowledge of genetics
c. Person with a genetically inherited condition
d. Owner of a large drug company that sells proteins such as insulin
e. Elected government official, such as a senator
Decide what people's vested interests are. What helps them succeed in
their jobs? For example, a geneticist depends on government funding for his
or her research laboratory, and receiving that government funding depends
on the geneticist's reputation for making new and important scientific
discoveries. Or a government official might have many pharmaceutical
companies in his or her state.

THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT

The Human Genome Project is addressing one of the most monumental
problems that scientists are working on-how to locate all of the human genes in the
23 pairs of chromosomes. To solve such a huge problem, geneticists, biologists,
chemists, engineers, computer scientists, mathematicians, and many others from all
over the world joined together in 1989 to create the Human Genome Project.
Genome is a word meaning all the DNA-genes of a species. The process of
determining the location of a gene on a chromosome is called gene mapping. The
current estimate is that humans have about 20,000 to 24,000 genes. It also is
estimated that there are over 3 billion pairs of nucleotides that make up human DNA.

Some people might ask, “Why would scientists want to be able to locate all of the
human genes?” One answer is that scientists, as human beings, are curious about
nature. They are always asking why, and they want to know more. Another reason
to locate all of the human genes is to improve health. There are thousands of genetic
conditions that result in an illness or a handicap that are caused by single gene
defects. Although some of these conditions have symptoms that can be treated, we
have no way to treat the diseases themselves, let alone to cure the people who have
the disease. Those working on the Human Genome Project hope that its research
will enable us to learn more about genetic diseases and help lead to cures. In
addition, those working on the Project believe that the research will provide tools for
learning more about the causes of other human diseases including cancer,
schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease.