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3.2 Unit 2: The Variety of Living Organisms

Variation

Variation
After studying this section, you will be able to: Understand the meaning of variation and that variation exists between members of a species Investigate variation Explain the causes of variation

Variation refers to the differences that occur between living organisms. All organisms are different from each other even clones like identical twins show variation. Variation exists between organisms of different species (interspecific variation) and also between organisms of the same species (intraspecific variation). Variation is often caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

Investigating Variation.
Investigating variation often involves statistical methods of: I. Sampling and/or collecting (variation) data. Normally difficult/impossible to investigate the entire population so we look at a sample of the population and then extrapolate to the entire population. This cuts down time and cost. Two problems that could arise when we take a sample are: a. Random error this occurs by chance. Say for example we are investigating the variation in height of the girls in your school. We could accidentally choose in our sample, mostly girls who are short and therefore the sample is not representative of the whole school. We can minimise this kind of sampling error by taking a large sample size. This reduces the probability that the data will be skewed. b. Sampling bias the investigator may deliberately choose one type of data, for example in the example above, the investigator may deliberately choose only medium height pupils because that fits in with the result she wants. We can minimise sampling bias by using random sampling techniques. This may include the use of quadrats or transects for plants or computer generated random numbers. Representing data (in table or graph form) enables trends to be more easily seen. We may be required to draw histograms or scattergrams or line graphs.

II.

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3.2 Unit 2: The Variety of Living Organisms III.

Variation

IV.

Analysing data this makes sure that any variation observed is not due to chance alone and we can therefore make comparisons and/or conclusions. Analyses may include calculations such as percentage change, range or standard deviation from the mean. Interpret the data describe, compare the data; compare data sets; draw conclusions; suggest reasons for trends/differences; establish whether there is a correlation etc.

Please make sure you understand/revise the meaning of the terms mean, median and mode; measures of averages which you would have come across in your GCSE course. Other measures of variation we may use in answering variation data questions are the range and standard deviation, (). The range is the difference between the highest and lowest numbers and in our data and it gives an idea of the spread of the variation. Standard deviation gives a better measure of the spread because it uses all the values in the data set, not just the highest and the lowest. It therefore tells us how much the data varies from the mean for a single sample. For example, the number of apples produced by a species, A of apple = 26, with standard deviation 3 and for species B = 32 with a standard deviation = 9. The conclusions we can draw are: 1) the number of apples produced by the two species differ and 2) most of the species A produced between 23 and 29 apples (26 3) and most trees in sample B produced between 23 and 41 apples (32 9) 3) generally, species B produces more apples but with a wider variation.

Formula for standard deviation (represented by or s) You dont need to remember it for Unit 2. You might need to know how to use the calculator to find the standard deviation for Unit 3 - ISAs.

( )

Where s = the standard deviation = the sum of x = each measurement n = No. of measurements

The table shows how the calculations are carried out. Girl 1 2 3 4 Height (x) cm 160.5 165.3 154.0 157.5 637.3 x 25,760.3 27,324.1 23,716.0 24,806.3 101,606.6
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All you need to do after drawing the table is to put the values of x and x2 and n (4) into the equation s = 4.79 mean height 159.3( and 2/3 of girls will have a ht of 159.3 4.79cm

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3.2 Unit 2: The Variety of Living Organisms The frequency histograms include values for the standard deviation, .

Variation

Put simply, the taller and narrower the histogram (of the data), the lower the SD () and the less variation there is. For a low, wide, histogram, the opposite applies, i.e. large standard deviation meaning the values vary a lot.

Causes of Variation.
Variation in the phenotype is caused either by the environment, by genetics, or by a combination of the two. Meiosis and sexual reproduction introduces variation, through Independent assortment of the parental chromosomes; through Crossing-over during Prophase I; and through the random fertilisation that forms the zygote. The environment also introduces variation, for example two seeds from the same fruit are genetically identical but one grown in a soil lacking minerals will not do as well as the other. Similarly identical (genetically) twins grow up and show differences (due to environment) especially if they are brought up in different environments.

Genetic Differences
Variation between different species is due to them having different genes. However, different species that are related share a lot of their genes. The closer the relatedness between species, the closer they are terms of their genes/DNA. For example humans and chimpanzees share about 90% of their DNA! Variation within the same species is due to individuals having different alleles. This is the variation we are going to discuss here. All organisms of the same species have the same genes but may have different alleles. All humans for example have the same genes they all have the gene for blood groups for example but different individuals have different alleles (A, B, O). The different alleles of the same gene are found at the same point/locus on both chromosomes.

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3.2 Unit 2: The Variety of Living Organisms Some of the causes of genetic variation are now outlined below. GENE MUTATION

Variation

Usually DNA replication before cell division is precise. From time to time however an error in replication may result in the order of nitrogen bases in DNA. This results in a alternative form of the gene (allele). The result of this is a change in the order and/or type of amino acids coded for by the gene responsible. Most mutations are harmful and may not be passed on to daughter cells. CHROMOSOMAL MUTATION Unlike Gene mutation which affects a small section of DNA, this type affects the chromosomal structure or chromosomal number. Several genes may be deleted as a unit or duplicated or may occur in multiples of more than 2. INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT OF BIVALENTS AT THE EQUATOR DURING ANAPHASE I During metaphase I of meiosis, the paternal and maternal (homologous) chromosomes arrange themselves on the equator of the spindle. They do this completely at random so each chromosome has an equal chance of being pulled to the right or left by the spindle. There are therefore different possible combinations of the chromosomes which end up in the gametes. There are 2n different combinations of chromosomes in four haploid cells produced where n is the haploid number of chromosomes CROSSING OVER BETWEEN NON-SISTER CHROMATIDS DURING PROPHASE I During late prophase I of meiosis, maternal and paternal chromosomes are intertwined (synapsis). At points along their lengths called chiasmata, bits of non-sister chromatids are interchanged between homologous pairs. This exchange of corresponding pieces of genetic material between maternal and paternal chromatids results in new combination of genes from the two parents. Genes which were always carried together (linked genes) may become separated. RANDOM FUSION OF GAMETES AT FERTILIZATION There is a wide variability in the gametes produced by each sexually reproducing parent (due to the effects of meiosis discussed above). The gametes from one parent are therefore varied, with different alleles. During fertilisation which male gamete will fertilise which female gamete? Totally by chance

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3.2 Unit 2: The Variety of Living Organisms

Variation

Environmental Influences
The environment exerts an influence on all organisms. These influences affect the way the organisms genes are expressed. The genes set limits of characteristics shown by an organism, but it is largely the environment that determines where, within those limits, the organism lies. Environmental factors including diet, temperature, amount of sunlight and minerals in soil (for plants), and disease all modify the expression of genes. Normal mutation is very rare in cells. But mutagenic agents such as high energy radiation (UV radiation, X-rays) and some chemicals like mustard gas may increase the rate of gene mutation in tissues. We will discuss Gene Mutations in greater level next year at A2 Level
Addition / at least one base is added during DNA replication Deletion / at least one base is not copied (frameshift) Substitution / at least one base is copied wrongly Interferences with normal base pairing (A-T;C-G) Degenerate code / different triplets can code for same amino acids

Types of Variation Discontinuous variation

This is seen mostly in characters controlled by a single gene (monogenic characteristics). The characters are often limited to a number of distinct phenotypes / categories (e.g. sex in humans or blood group; antibiotic resistance in bacteria) with no intermediates. Discontinuous variation is unaffected by the environment Histograms showing discontinuous variation has separate bars

Continuous variation
Continuous variation is often seen in characters controlled by several alleles (polygenic characters) of many genes located on different chromosomes. Histograms depicting this type of variation show a range of values / class intervals in a normal distribution (e.g. human height or skin colour). Phenotype is affected by environmental factors for example identical twins with same genes will show a variation in skin colour if one lives in the tropics and the other in a temperate country because higher skin temperature activates a gene for pigment production. Diet also affects

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3.2 Unit 2: The Variety of Living Organisms

Variation

individual's size and health. Malnourishment results in shorter height. Therefore both genes and the environment determine the phenotype. Some variation is as a result of environmental factors alone for example, accents that people speak with.

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