BIO210 Final Exam Study Guide/Genetics
Understand the significance of Darwin’s finches
(ANSAdaptation of beak shape in association with each island. This makes them more
“fit” for their environments (ex. Food source that is available on each island)
This was a result of natural selection
Maximized fitness
Darwin’s finches represent…
(ANS- adaptive radiation
Adaptive radiation
(ANS- divergence of a single group/species, each better suited to survive in its
specific niche. Split into a series of distinct but related species/groups
Phenotype vs genotype
(ANS- Phenotypic diversity results from genetic diversity: diff. genes = diff. traits
Genetic diversity
(ANS- variation of genes between individuals of a species in a population
Translation
(ANS- process in which ribosomes synthesize proteins after the process of
transcription
ALX1
(ANS- One of the genes in region D in Darwin’s Finches
Also affects frog development, human cleft palate, known in birds for beak
development
Transcription Factor
(ANS- Protein that binds to DNA to initiate (or inhibit) expression of other genes
(ex. ALX1)
Central Dogma
(ANS- Flow of genetic information (DNA, RNA, proteins)
Genes code for proteins via transcription and translation
DNA
(ANS- double-stranded helix of nucleic acids
Chromosome
(ANS- single, large DNA molecule that is inherited
Gene
(ANS- Functional region of a chromosome
Locus (Loci)
(ANS- a gene, a location on a chromosome
Polymer vs Monomer
(ANS- Polymer: macromolecule made of smaller subunits
Monomer: smaller building-block molecules
Ex. nucleic acids are composed of nucleotides
All nucleotides have the same general, 3-Part structure (dNTP)
(ANS- Deoxyribonucleotide Triphosphate
Deoxyribose sugar
Ribose: 5′-C sugar
Triphosphate: α, β, γ phosphates
Bonded to 5′-C
Nucleotide base = Nitrogenous base
Bonded to 1′-C, diff. between nucleotides
Purines
(ANS- A & G, 2 C-N rings (double ring)
Pyrimidines
(ANS- C & T, 1 C-N ring (single ring)
Adenine, cytosine, guanine, thymine
(ANS- Complementary base pairing: weak hydrogen bond
G-C & A-T
Purine + pyrimidine pairing
The bonds between complementary pairs are weak but there are many
Strand follows direction according to polarity
(ANS- 5′ to 3′
One end: P’s on 5′-C
Other end: OH on 3′-C
The two strands run in _ directions 5′-3′ & 3′-5′
(ANS- 5′-3′ & 3′-5′
Probe
(ANS- oligonucleotide of a specific target sequence
Melt apart double strands (with temperature, enzymes, etc.)
Replication
(ANS- makes more DNA
Each strand serves as as a template for another double-stranded DNA
Proteins are composed of amino acids
(ANS- Amino or N-Terminus, R or Functional Group, & Carboxyl or C-Terminus
Peptide bond
(ANS- covalent, condensation reaction
Carboxyl & Amino
Codon
(ANS- nucleotide triplet specifying a single amino acid
RNA (ribonucleic acid)
(ANS- Different than DNA:
OH on 2′-C (2 OH structure vs 1 OH structure)
Uracil instead of thymine (G:C and A:U)
Transcription
(ANS- makes a copy of genetic info in RNA
Messenger RNA: mRNA
Template strand: complementary DNA strand
Replicates template in mRNA
Coding strand: reverse complement of template strand
Same sequence as RNA
Coding region
(ANS- Part that is transcribed
Exons and Introns
Exons
(ANS- regions that end up in the final mRNA
Introns
(ANS- regions that are spliced out