BGM1004/L17 Evolution Transitions Flashcards
Name 3 key transitions in evolution.
RNA to DNA
Prokaryotes to eukaryotes
Primates to Homo sapiens
What experiment tested the origin of life’s building blocks?
Miller-Urey experiment
Describe the Miller-Urey experiment.
Water, methane, ammonia and hydrogen mixed
Condenser attached
Heat source attached
What was the problem with the Miller-Urey experiment?
Borosilicate flask (silica) contributed to generation of organic products
Describe the results of the Miller-Urey experiment.
In one week: 10-15% of carbon as organic compounds
2% as amino acids (largely Glycine)
What kind of materials can act as ‘templates’ to organise pre-biotic and organic molecules?
Mineral (clay) catalysts
Adsorbents
What came before the ‘RNA world’?
Prebiotic soup
What was the organisation of ‘RNA world’ genetic material?
Self-assembly and self-replication
Cellularisation and metabolism
What is a progenote?
A cell that is still in the process of evolving the relationship between the genotype and the phenotype
What hypothesis did Carl Woese and George Fox put forward?
Common ancestor (LUCA) of all life was a progenote
What hypothesis has been put forward about the LUCA of all life?
It was a modern-like bacteria cell with fully developed Central Dogma
What did removal of proteins from the ribosome prove?
That RNA was a key aspect of ribosomes
What properties does the 2’-OH of RNA cause?
Chemical instability
Flexibility
Give 3 structures that single stranded RNA can fold into.
Three-nucleotide bridge
Four-stem junction
Hairpin loop
Pseudoknot
Give an example of a natural ribozyme.
Viroid ribozyme
