GENETICS
Regan Sikes
DNA & RNA
DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information.
RNA is a ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells. Its principal role is to act as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA for controlling the synthesis of proteins
Traits/ Heredity
- Trait: an inherited characteristic
- Ex: blue eyes
- Heredity: process in which qualities are passed on from parent to child
- Ex: hairline
Dominant & Recessive
- Dominant: a trait that is shown, covers up the recessive trait.
- Ex: Brown eyes are dominant
- Recessive: a trait is only shown when both traits are recessive;
- Ex: blonde hair
Punnett Squares
- diagram used to predict the outcome of a certain breeding
- Phenotype: characteristic seem Ex: tall or short, hair color
- Genotype: allele combination; Ex: TT,Tt,tt
x-linked disorders
caused by gene alteration on the X chromosome; Ex: hemophilia, muscular dystrophy
DNA Replication
- Process of producing 2 identical replicas from one DNA strand
Protein Synthesis
- DNA encodes for production of amino acids and protein
- Transcription: process of making an RNA copy of a gene sequence
- Translation: process of translating the sequence of a messenger RNA molecule to a sequence of amino acids and proteins
Genetic Engineering
- process of manually adding new DNA to an organism
DNA fingerprinting
- test to identify and evaluate the genetic information; Ex: gel electropharesis
Mitosis
- cell process in which chromosomes in a nucleus are separated into 2 identical sets; asexual
Gametes
- mature sexual reproduction cell;l Ex: sperm and egg
Haploid and Diploid
- Haploid: only one set of chromosomes
- Diploid: paired chromosomes, one set form each parent
Gregor Mendel
- father of genetics
- discovered fundamental laws of inheritance through his study of pea plants
Watson and Crick
Mutations
- natural process that changes a DNA sequence
- Insertion: extra base pairs and inserted into a new place in DNA
- deletion: base pairs are taken out of DNA strand
- substitution: exchanges one base for another