Molecular basics

Question 1

What is genetics?

Answer 1

It’s the study of genes and the core of biology . Also helps understand the function and malfunctions of a biological system
- How traits and disease are passed from generations

Question 2

When did modern genetics develop?

Answer 2

Developed during the 20th century, first saw the nucleus, then chromosomes

Question 3

Genetics as a practice began with who and when?

Answer 3

Gregor Mendel published hereditary transmission among plants late his works was rediscovered in 1900 by Correns, de vries, and von tschermak

Question 4

When did Mendel’s work reappear and Garrod used what disease to do so? How did this lead to “recessive character” and then patterns of transmissions?

Answer 4

Garrod used alkaptonuria “black urine disease- accumulation of homogentisic acid”
- he saw that heredity of certain disease can skip generations where some are carriers or will rarely express the gene

Question 5

What are the three major branches of genetics?

Answer 5

• Transmission Genetics: transmission of traits in successive generations
• Evolutionary genetics: origins of and genetic relationships among organisms and the evolution of genes and genomes
• Molecular genetics: inheritance and variation of nucleic acids, proteins, and genomes

Question 6

What are the 2 principles of the Chromosome Theory of Inheritance?

Answer 6

1. Chromosomes are the carriers of units of inheritance (genes)
2. Chromosomes maintain genetic continuity through generations

Question 7

Proceeding from the Chromosome Theory of Inheritance, what were the two main candidate molecules for the genetic material?

Answer 7

• proteins: diversity
• Nucleic acids: no sufficient diversity

Question 8

What are genes

Answer 8

are the physical units of heredity, as originally posited by Mendel; now known to be defined DNA sequences

Question 9

What are chromosomes

Answer 9

are long molecules of double-stranded DNA and protein, which contain genes

Question 10

What are homologous pairs?

Answer 10

pairs of chromosomes, which carry genes for the same traits

Question 11

What are homologous chromosomes? Do they have the same genes? Do they have the same alleles?

Answer 11

• chromosomes that exist in pairs
• same morphology
• same genes
• Same or different alleles

Question 12

What is the difference between haploid (n) and diploid (2n)

Answer 12

Haploid = one set of chromosomes
diploid= two set of chromosomes

Question 13

Identify and draw a chromosome with
- p arm
- q arm
- centromere
- sister chromatids
- telomeres

Answer 13

Draw

Question 14

What is the correlation between phenotype, genotype, alleles and how it can lead to generic variation

Answer 14

Phenotype is what physical traits we can see, genotype is the genetic make up, allele are the alternative form of a gene (TT,Tt,tt)
- Genotypes are fixed phenotypes are not

Question 15

DNA definition

Answer 15

Hereditary material in all organism (Nucleic acid)

Question 16

RNA definition

Answer 16

can be used by viruses, and is synthesized during transcription

Question 17

mRNA definition

Answer 17

under goes translation to produce proteins at structures called ribosomes

Question 18

What are the three essential components of nucleotides?

Answer 18

• NITROGENOUS BASE
• PENTOSE SUGAR
• PHOSPHATE GROUP

Question 19

How many nitrogenous bases are there and which ones are associated with DNA/RNA?

Answer 19

5 Bases
- DNA: A,T,G,C
- RNA: A,U,G,C

Question 20

What are the three things that make a model organism?

Answer 20

• easy to grow
• short life cycle
• produce many offspring

Question 21

What are the three things that can be used to study genetic variation?

Answer 21

Staining, blots and probes

Question 22

What are the two gel types?

Answer 22

agarose and polyacrylamide

Question 23

(T/F) Nucleic acids and most proteins are positively charged and will move to the negative charge end of the gel

Answer 23

False, since DNA is negatively charged and will move towards a positive charge

Question 24

Identify the blotting types and what they identify.

Answer 24

• Southern blotting: DNA transfer; named after Edwin Southern
• Northern blotting: mRNA transfer
• Western blotting: protein transfer

Question 25

What is genomics? And what are the other two types of -omics we discussed? (4)

Answer 25

• Genomics: study of whole genomes or genomes in their entirety
• proteomics: focuses on the study of the complete set of proteins encoded in a genome
• transcriptomics: studies the complete set of genes that undergo transcription in a cell
• metabolomics studies chemical processes involving metabolites in a specific cell, tissue, organ, or organism

Question 26

Template vs. coding strand

Answer 26

Template: strand from which RNA is synthesized that runs 3’-5’
Coding: complementary partner of the template stand 5’-3’

Question 27

What is the concept of LUCA and the three domains of life?

Answer 27

All life on Earth shares a common origin: “Last Universal Common Ancestor”
- Eukarya (true nucleus, multiple chromosomes)
- Bacteria (no true nucleus, single chromosome)
- Archaea (no true nucleus, single chromosome)