practice test results: solid.

ch13 meiosis and sexual life cycles:

13.1: heredity is the inheritance of traits from parent to child, but in sexual reproduction, we
aren’t exact copies of our parents- there is some variation. this, and the correct count of
chromosomes during the sexual life cycle are mantained by meiosis and ferilization. traits are
passed down in the forms of genes, which make up specific portions of a strand of DNA- a
specific sequence of nucleotides which code for certain proteins which lead to a certain trait. a
gene’s specific location along its dna is called its locus. gametes are the carriers of genes in the
sexual life cycle and have half the chromosomes as somatic cells. in asexual reproduction, the
reproduce via mitotic division leading to exact clones.

13.2: somatic cells are diploid cells meaning they have two sets of chromosomes and 23 in
each, so a total of 46 chromosomes (1 pair of sex chromosomes and 22 pairs of autosomes).
one set of maternal, and one paternal. in a pair, the two chromosomes are homologous
chromosomes or homologs. they have the same genes at the same loci, but different alleles.
the only pair which this doesn’t apply to is the sex chromosomes (female = XX, males = XY),
many of the genes in the large X are missing in the small Y. all eggs contain X chromosomes,
and half of the sperm have X/Y. there are three different types of life cycles. first, for
mammals: the diploid cells produce haploid gametes which fertilize each other to form a diploid
zygote which goes through mitosis. next, for plants and some algae there is alternation of
generations: the diploid multicellular organism called the sporophyte produces haploid cells
which then go through mitosis to form the multicellular gametophyte which produces haploid
gametes through mitosis which then fertilize each other and then mitosis to form the sporophyte.
last, some fungi and protists: have a haploid multi/unicellular organism which then produces
haploid gametes via mitosis, which fertilize each other to form a diploid zygote, which then
forms meiosis and then mitosis to form the haploid organism.

13.3: overview of meiosis. Before it occurs, the chromosomes are duplicated into sister
chromatids, but then the cell goes through two divisions producing four haploid cells. In meiosis
I, during prophase I following the formation of condenses sister chromatids, there are dna
breaks in non sister chromatids at corresponding locations. Then, during synapsis (the
association of homologs), a synaptonemal complex is formed, and the dna breaks are closed by
crossovers in the non-sister chromatids. after the synaptonemal complex disintegrates, these
points of crossovers are called chiasm or chiasma. in metaphase I, the homologs line up
together in the metaphase plate, and a microtubule is attached to each homolog. in anaphase I,
the cohesins along the sister chromatids’ arms are broken down, and then the homologs move
to either ends of the cell. by the time telophase and cytokinesis begin each side of the cell has
the complete haploid set of chromosomes. meiosis II is quite similar to mitosis except for the
fact that the chromosomes are not duplicated before it, and the sister chromatids (from meiosis
I) are not identical due to the crossing overs. It ends with four haploid, daughter cells.

13.4: How is genetic variation a result of meiosis? 1. independent assortment: each

homologous pair aligns itself independently of the others. meaning, either the maternal or
paternal chromatids could be closer to one pole. Therefore, the possible number of
arrangements can be defined by 2n, which is the haploid number of a cell. ours is 23, so our
number of arrangements is somewhere around 8.4 million. in addition, crossing over results in
recombinant chromosomes which contain alleles from both parents producing new
combinations of alleles and non-identical sister chromatids leading to even more combinations.
Last but not least, fertilization is random, leading to (for humans) 223 x 223 combinations =
approximately 70 trillion.

ch14 mendel and the gene idea:

14.1: The gene idea is the theory that parents pass on heredity units (genes) to their offspring
which maintains its identity and is reshuffled for the coming generations. a character is
something that varies among individuals, and its traits are the varieties of it. (hair color, brown).
a plant that has always produced the same genotype as the parent plant is known to be true-
breeding (self-pollination in successive generations), they are referred to as the P generation.
The mating or crossing of two true bred varieties is called hybridization (the F1 generation).
The F1 generation produces the F2 generation. A character trait can be compared to gene,
allele (the difference in the specific nucleotide). If two alleles at a locus differ, the dominant one
determines the phenotype and the recessive one doesn’t. During gamete formation, these two
alleles separate and there’s a 50% chance of the parent’s gamete having either allele. test
cross: if you ever don’t know the genotype of a organism, breed it with the recessive organism
of that allele: if all plants dominitar then = AA, if 2:1 ratio: Aa. The law of independent
assortment states that two alleles on different chromosomes or far away from each other on
the same chromosome will not assort into gametes based on eachother, they will assort
independently. therefore, in a dihybrid cross (tracking two characters), in the F2 generation the
ration of phenotype AB: phenotype Ab: phenotype aB: phenotype a/b will be 9:3:3:1, and not
3:1/

14.2: according to the multiplication rule, the chances of two events happening simultaneously
is found by multiplying the chances of the two. according to the addition rule, the chances of
two events happening independently is found by adding the two. imagine you are solving to see
how many of the dihybrid cross in the F2 generation will have the recessive traits for both
alleles. AaBb x AaBb, first you solve for the chances of getting aa, which is ¼ and then multiply
is by ¼ to get 1/16.

14.3: mendel’s gene idea was simple- we need to discuss more complex ideas. first of all,
certain allele don’t always show complete dominance- there could be incomplete dominance
when the phenotype is an intermediate, or codominance in which both phenotypes are present
(it varies depending on your perspective, molecular, biochemical, etc,) additionally, multiple
alleles can exist for one gene, and, one gene can have multiple phenotypic effects (pleiotropy).
Sometimes, more than one gene affects a single phenotypic effect. Epistasis is the phenotypic
expression of a gene at one locus impacting the phenotypic expression of a gene at another
locus. Polygenic inheritance is when multiple genes work on one phenotype, often
quantitative characters (traits come in gradients). Oftentimes, these phenotypes are
multifactorial (meaning its impacted by both the environment and the genotype).
14.4: A pedigree is a family tree that tracks traits. Most genetic disorders are recessive, as
their heterozygous carriers have higher chances of survival. In the heterozygotes the normal
protein accounts for the malfunctioning protein. Incest increases the chances of two carriers
meeting and having offspring with the disorder. cystic fibrosis is a disorder in which the
chloride ion transport channels are missing leading to increases mucus. additionally, sickle cell
disease is common amongst african-americans- at a molecular level though, it is codominant.
most dominant genetic disorders aren’t passed down as they kill the host before reproductive
age except for hutchinsons and dwarfism. some diseases are multifactorial: depression, heart
attack. as of recent, there are tests in place like amniocentesis (a needle in the fluid) or
chorionic villus sampling which would take a sample from the placenta and then test it.
however, recently ultrasound and blood testing has become more popular.

ch 15: the chromosomal basis of inheritance

15.1: thomas hunt morgan conducted an experiment with the wild-type fruit flies, and found one
with a mutation that resulted in white eyes. in a monohybrid cross they resulted in the 3:1
phenotypic ratio (but the white eyes only showed up in males). seeing as it was recessive, it
meant the white eyes allele was found on the sex chromosomes as females would dominate
over it, but males couldn’t.

15.2: X and Y chromosomes only have the ends of the Y chromosome homologous (allowing
for their pairing during meiosis). In the Y chromosome, there is a gene required for the
development of testes- its called the SRY (sex-determining region of Y). any chromosome on
the sex chromosomes are called sex-linked genes (x-linked or y-linked). most x-linked
disorders are more prevalent in males as they are recessive in females. For all x-linked genes,
males are hemizygous as they don’t have another in females, one of the Xs always deactivate
and form a barr body (except in gametes/meiosis). the interaction of the xs in early embryonic
development leads to the activation of the x-inactive specific transcript on the future barr body,
leading rna to wrap the X chromosome- leading to X inactivation.

15.3: genes located near each other on a chromosome are called linked genes, as they are
typically inherited together- but not necessarily. parental types are phenotypes identical to the
P generation, and ones that don’t resemble either parent are called recombinant types. often
times, crossing over results in the separation of alleles on the same chromosome. recombinant
frequency the further two loci are- a genetic map based on recombination frequencies is a
linkage map (in map units, one map unit = 1% recombination frequency). the max value of
recombination is 50%, the value for two different chromosomes. cytogenetic maps are more
reliable.

15.4: in nondisjunction, sister chromatids or homologous don’t separate properly and that
results in aneuploidy (having an uneven number of chromosomes). being trisomic means
having an extra chromosome, and monosomic means lacking one. sometimes polyploidy
occurs in which there are additional sets of chromosomes (total nondisjunction or failure to
separate after duplication). there are four types of alteration to chromosome structures:
deltion, duplication (homolog or sister), inversion (same chromosome), and translocation (non
homolog). down syndrome is the result of trisomy 21. xxy leads to klinefelter’s syndrome =
male sex organs but sterile. xyy = tall. xxx = learning disabilities and tall. xo = infertile.

15.5: according to genomic imprinting, alleles can behave differently depending on whether
they have been inherited by the mother or father. when genes are imprinted during gamete
formation, some are inactivated depending on whether they are maternal or paternal
(sometimes by the addition of CH3 methyl). additionally, organelles just replicate amongst
themselves, and the egg contains all the organelles of the future zygote.

Questions Answers

What is heredity? how does it differ in Heredity is the inheritance of traits from our
sexual/asexual reproduction? parents. In sexual reproduction, our traits vary
from out parents, but in asexual reproduction
we are clones.

What are genes, where are they located? Genes are units of inheritance located along
the length of a strand of DNA (each a specific
sequence of nucleotides). Their specific
location is called a loci.

What are diploid cells? haploid cells? Diploid cells have two sets of chromosomes,
haploid have one.

What are homologs? how do they differ in sex There are 23 types of chromosomes and 2 of
chromosomes vs autosomes? each type (homologs). They code for the
same genes in autosomes. But, in the sex
chromosomes they can sometimes differ: ex
XY.

What are the three different types of life mammals: diploid performs meiosis →
cycles? haploid cells fertilize → diploid zygote
performs mitosis

alternation of generations (plants) →

diploid sporophyte performs meiosis →
haploid spores perform mitosis →
gametophyte produces gametes that
fertilize → mitosis to form sporophyte

fungi and protists: haploid organism

mitosis to form gametes → diploid
zygote → meiosis → mitosis to form
organism

What occurs before meiosis? define it. interphase but only once, you replicate the
chromosomes into sister chromatids.

What occurs in the prophase I of meiosis I? synapsis: homologs associate along their
 lengths and a synaptonemal complex is
formed, and parts of the homologs that had
been torn off attach. once the synaptonemal
complex deforms the homologs have been
crossed over. the nuclear envelope and
nucleus have already fragmented. the
microtubules have formed and attached to
kinetochores.

What occurs in the rest of meiosis I? in metaphase, they line up with their
homologs and chiasmatas at the metaphase
plate. in anaphase, the cohesins along the
arms of the sister chromatids tear, so the
homologs separate. regular telophase occurs
resulting in two haploid cells.

What occurs in meiosis II? replication does not occur beforehand, but
otherwise similar to mitosis. and, not all the
sifter chromatids are identical due to crossing
over.

What is an independent assortment? each chromosome/homolog assorts

Equation? independent of the other ones. the total
possibilities are represented by 2n, with n
being the haploid number.

How does crossing over contribute to genetic after crossing over, chromosomes now
variation? contain genes from both parents forming
recombinant chromosomes.

What is random fertilization? the chances of a specific sperm fertilizing a

specific egg = (2n)2

Questions Answers

What is the gene idea? Parents pass on genes to their offspring,

which are maintained and reshuffled through
generations.

Character? Trait? A character can be an expressible factor that

has variation (traits).

What is true-breeding? Corresponding A true breeding plant has been self pollinating
generation? for generations. When every offspring is
identical to the parent for generations, and
the corresponding generation is the P
generation.

What is the F1 generation? What is a result F1 is a result of hybridization resulting in

of? either a monohybrid or dihybrid.
What is a gene? An allele? Types? A gene is a series of nucleotides that code for
a specific trait, and alleles are the different
variations. Dominant alleles express
themselves in the presence of other alleles,
and recessive alleles do not.

How do you uncover a missing genotype? You perform a test cross with an organism
that is homozygous recessive for that trait.

What is the law of independent assortment? Ever chromosome assorts independently of

all others. 22

What is the multiplication rule? Addition? The probability of two separate events
occurring (either/or), is the sum of the
probability of both events. The probability of
two events happening at the same time is the
product of the probability of the two events.

Define complete dominance The heterozygous genotype of the traits has

the same phenotype as the homozygous
dominant.

Define incomplete and codominance These vary depending on the lens you are
looking through. In incomplete dominance,
the phenotype is an intermediate of the
recessive and dominant phenotypes. In
codominance, both phenotypes are
expressed.

What is pleiotropy? A single gene can be expressed in multiple

phenotypes.

What is epistasis? A gene’s phenotype affects the expression of

another.

What is polygenic inheritance? Multiple genes work to express one

phenotype.

What are quantitative characters? The phenotypes are more of a spectrum than
specific options (ex: skin).

How can a phenotype be multifactorial? It is impacted by both the environment and

the genotype.

What is a pedigree? It is a family tree tracking a specific trait.

Males = squares, females = circles, and
shaded = means affected

Describe common genetic disorders. Talk Most genetic disorders are recessive, and
about cystic fibrosis. therefore, most people heterozygous for them
are carriers. In cystic fibrosis, the chloride ion
 channels are missing, therefore, when
heterozygous the dominant allele accounts
for the missing channels.

Is sickle cell-disease completely dominant, At an organismal level, it is complete

etc? dominance as the organism won’t have it, but
at a molecule level it is codominant as both
sicke and normal cells are expressed.

What is amniocentesis? In amniocentesis, a sample of the amniotic

fluid is taken to test for genetic disorders.

What is chorionic villus sampling? In CVS, a sample of the placenta is taken to

test for genetic disorders.

Questions Answers

Explain Morgan’s experiment. He bred two flies, a male with white eyes and
a female with red eyes. The F2 generation
only had males with white eyes.

What’s the wild type? The type most common in nature.

What is the SRY? It is a gene on the Y chromosome that leads

to the formation of male reproductive organs.
Sex determining region of Y.

What are sex linked genes? X-linked Sex linked genes are genes on the sex
disorders? Hemizygous? chromosomes. X-linked disorders are much
more common for males, as they are
hemizygous for them (they do not have a
corresponding Y gene for it).

What is a barr body? In females, one of the two X chromosomes

are inactivated by the trigger of RNA that
swallow the X-chromosomes.

What are linked genes? Linked genes are genes close enough on a
chromosome that they do not assort
independently.

Parental types vs recombinant types Parental types are identical to the parents,
and recombinant are not.

Why are alleles on the same chromosome not Crossing over. You can map the likelihood
always inherited together? using a linkage map which is measured in
map units = 1% chance of crossing over.

What is nondisjunction? What does it result Nondisjunction occurs when microtubules

in? accidentally attach to an extra chromosome.
It results in aneuploidy.

What is polyploidy? Polyploidy is having more than two sets of

chromosome. It can be a result of total
nondisjunction or an unnecessary replication
of DNA.

What are the four types of alterations to Deletion, Translocation onto a nonhomolog,
chromosome structures? Duplication onto a sister/homolog, or an
inversion on itself.

Explain genomic imprinting. Some traits are expressed differently

depending on which parent they are inherited
from. When genes are imprinted during
gamete formation, some are inactivated
depending on whether they are maternal or
paternal (sometimes by the addition of CH3
methyl)

How do organelles replicate pass down The organelles duplicate inside the cell, and
genes? the egg contains said organelles.