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Biology Glossary > Genetic Diversity and Evolution > Flashcards

Genetic Diversity and Evolution Flashcards

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1
Q

What does adaptation mean?

A

Adaptation, in biology, the process by which a species becomes fitted to its environment; it is the result of natural selection’s acting upon heritable variation over several generations.

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2
Q

What is an agar plate?

A

A Petri dish that contains a growth medium solidified with agar, used to culture microorganisms

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3
Q

What is an allele?

A

Different versions of the same gene. They code for the same protein but different forms e.g. different coloured pigments

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4
Q

What is allele frequency?

A

The number of times an allele occurs within the gene pool

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5
Q

What does anatomical mean?

A

Relating to the bodily structure

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6
Q

What is antibiotic resistance?

A

Antibiotic resistance, loss of susceptibility of bacteria to the killing (bacteriocidal) or growth – inhibiting properties of an antibiotic agent

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7
Q

What is base deletion?

A

Removal of one of the bases in DNA. This can result in a frameshift mutation and a change in all the amino acids downstream of the deletion

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8
Q

What is base substitution?

A

Replacement of a base of DNA. Due to the redundance of the genetic code this may or may not result in a change of amino acid. Sometimes this small change can affect the tertiary structure of the protein and therefore its functionality.

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9
Q

What does behavioural mean?

A

The behaviour of an animal can affect its mating patterns and is a very important driver of population evolution

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10
Q

What is binary fission?

A

Form of asexual reproduction and cell division in prokaryotic organisms which results in the reproduction of a living prokaryotic cell (or organelle) by dividing the cell into two parts.

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11
Q

What is a chromatid?

A

One section of DNA of a homologous chromosome. Two chromatids make up a chromosome after replication

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12
Q

What is a chromosome?

A

A thread like structure made of protein and DNA by which hereditary information is physically passed from one generation to the next.

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13
Q

What is crossing over?

A

Crossing over is the swapping of genetic material that occurs in the germ line. During the formation of egg and sperm cells, also known as meiosis, paired chromosomes, from each parent align so that similar DNA sequences from the paired chromosomes cross over one another

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14
Q

What are daughter cells?

A

The cells that result from the division of a single parent cell

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15
Q

What does degenerate mean?

A

Although each codon is specific for only one amino acid (or one stop signal), the genetic code is described as degenerate, or redundant, because a single amino acid may be coded for by more than one codon.

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16
Q

What does diploid mean?

A

A cell or organism that has paired chromosomes, one from each parent

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17
Q

What is directional selection?

A

Directional selection occurs when individuals with traits on one side of the mean in their population survive better or reproduce more than those on the other. Example: bacterial resistance. (Favours one extreme of the range of characteristics and the other extreme selected against – shift in population curve)

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18
Q

What is disruptive selection?

A

Favours both extremes of a distribution, selection occurs against the mean – results in biomodal distribution

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19
Q

What is the DNA base sequence?

A

The order of nitrogenous bases in a molecule of DNA

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20
Q

What is DNA replication?

A

DNA replication is the process by which DNA makes a copy of itself during cell division.

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21
Q

What is Down Syndrome?

A

Down Syndrome is a condition in which a child is born with an extra copy of their 21st chromosome. This causes physical and mental developmental delays and disabilities

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22
Q

What is the evolution of populations?

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A

Populations (or gene pools) evolve as gene frequencies change; individual organisms cannot evolve. Variation in populations is determined by the genes present in the population’s gene pool, which may be directly altered by mutation.

23
Q

What is the first meiotic division?

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A

The first meiotic division separates pairs of homologous chromosomes to halve the chromosome number (diploid to haploid)

24
Q

What are gametes?

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A

Gametes are an organism’s reproductive cells. They are also referred to as sex cells. Female gametes are called ova or egg cells, and male gametes are called sperm. Gametes are haploid cells, and each cell carries only one copy of each chromosome

25
What is a gene?
A section of DNA on a chromosome coding for one or more polypeptide
26
What is the genetic code?
Genetic code is the term we use for the way that the four bases of DNA--the A, C, G, and Ts- are strung together in a way that the cellular machinery, the ribosome, can read them and turn them into a protein.
27
What is genetic diversity?
The number of different alleles of genes in a population
28
What does genetic variation refer to?
Term used to describe the variation in the DNA sequence in each of our genomes
29
What does haploid mean?
Is the quality of the cell or organism having a single set of chromosomes
30
What is a histogram?
A graphical representation that organises a group of data points into useful specified ranges
31
What are homologous chromosomes?
Chromosomes that share – the same structural features (e.g. size, same branding patterns, same centromere positions). The same genes at the same loci positions (while the genes are the same, alleles may be different)
32
What is incubating?
in a laboratory or other controlled situation - keep (eggs, bacteria, embryos, etc.) at a suitable temperature so they grow and develop
33
What is independent assortment or segregation?
Independent Assortment describes how different genes independently separate from one another when reproductive cells develop. During meiosis, the pairs of homologous chromosome are divided in half to form haploid cells, and this separation, or assortment, of homologous chromosomes is random.
34
What is interspecific competition?
Form of competition in which individuals of different species compete for the same resources in an ecosystem
35
What is intraspecific competition?
Form of competition between individuals from the same species where they compete for the same resources in an ecosystem
36
What is the locus?
A place where something is found
37
What is meiosis?
A type of cell division that results in four daughter cells each with half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell, as in the production of gametes and plant spores
38
What are mutations?
A change in a DNA base sequence
38
What is the mutagenic agent?
A mutagen is a chemical or physical agent that has the ability to change our genetic code in a harmful way.
39
What is natural selection?
A mechanism of evolution. Organisms that are more adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on the genes that aided their success.
40
What is a normal/gaussian distribution?
A frequency with a bell shaped curve
41
What is non-disjunction?
Nondisjunction is the failure of the chromosomes to separate, which produces daughter cells with abnormal numbers of chromosomes
42
What is nuclear division?
The process by which the nucleus divides, resulting in the segregation of the genome to opposite poles of the cell
43
What does physiological mean?
The normal functions of living organisms and their parts
44
What is a population?
The number of individuals of a particular species in a given area
45
What is recombination?
Recombination is a process by which pieces of DNA (often are broken and recombined to produce new combinations of alleles
46
What is the second meiotic division?
Meiosis II is the second meiotic division, and usually involves equational segregation, or separation of sister chromatids
47
What is a spore?
A minute, typically one-celled, reproductive unit capable of giving rise to a new individual without sexual fusion, characteristic of lower plants, fungi, and protozoans. In plants these are haploid reproductive cell which give rise to a gametophyte (a gamete producing organism).
48
What is spontaneous mutation?
Random mutations in DNA. The frequency of these spontaneous random mutations can be increased by mutagenic agents such as radiation and certain chemicals.
49
What is a stabilising selection?
Favours the mean of the distribution because the extremes are at a selective disadvantage – frequency of the mean phenotype increases
50
What is sterilisation?
The application of heat to kill bacteria. Includes incineration (burning), boiling, and cooking
51
What is variation?
Differences in a base sequence of DNA or amino acid sequence of proteins
52
What is a zone of incubation?
The circular area around the spot of an antimicrobial where bacteria colonies do not grow

Biology Glossary (10 decks)

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