Biology E.

Moretz
Portfolio – Genetics and Evolutions 2017/2018
Ashwaq Abdi
Unit Summary Questions

1) How do meiosis and fertilization increase genetic variation?

Meiosis is the process that produces gametes (sperm and egg). Fertilization is the process that brings
together a sperm and an egg. The parent cells go through replication which creates four daughter cells. These
daughter cells only have about half of the genetic information that they need, which means that they need to
be fertilized to have the full set of chromosomes (chromatin is the material of which chromosomes consist of)
. Sister chromatids cross over making meiosis have genetic variation because of the new chromosomes that
are being produced. Fertilization increases genetic variation because you are then getting half of your genetic
information from another type of cell (in this case, sperm)

2) What are the advantages and disadvantages of sexual and asexual reproduction?
Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction where two different individuals come together and join
their genetic information (in humans, a sperm and an egg). Asexual reproduction is a type of reproduction
where offspring comes from one parent only (usually by fission, budding, and fragmentation). One advantage
of asexual reproduction is the amount of time that it takes. During sexual reproduction in humans it takes
about 9 months for the offspring to be produced but in asexual reproduction it reproduces fairly quickly. One
advantage to sexual reproduction is that there is more genetic diversity. This is an advantage because in case
of a habitat change, the whole species of asexual organisms would be wiped out because of low genetic
diversity.

3) What is the role of BOTH Mendel's law of segregation and law of independent assortment and
genetic inheritance?
Gregor Mendel is a scientist responsible for his work with pea plants and discovering the laws of
inheritance. Mendel’s law of segregation states that allele pairs separate when the gametes are formed and
then segregate when it’s time to create a gamete and then unite randomly during fertilization. The law of
independent assortment states that when two traits are inherited, they sort independently when a gamete is
being made. Both of these laws affect genetic inheritance because they will increase the genetic diversity
because there is more of a chance for genes to end up in different gametes.

4) In sheep black fur is dominant to white fur. If both parents are heterozygous what is the probability
of producing a white male offspring (HINT: you will need to carry out 2 crosses, fur and sex, and
multiply the answer from each cross to get the probability.). 50% male
Different genes have different alleles associated with time. An allele is a series of 50% female
genes that are responsible for hereditary characteristics. An example of this is
whether you have detached earlobes or not, or if you can roll your tongue. In this
example, both of the sheep are heterozygous. This means that they have one
dominant and one recessive allele. If the sheep were homozygous, then this
means that they would have two recessives or two dominant alleles. The
probability of getting a white male offspring is (.5*.25) about 12.5%
Biology E. Moretz
Portfolio – Genetics and Evolutions 2017/2018

5) In snapdragons, pink petal color is the result of incomplete dominance red and white petal color are
the dominant alleles. If two pink petaled parents are crossed, what are the genotypic and
phenotypic ratios of the F1 generation? R W
A phenotype is the physical characteristics of an organism gained from genetics but also R RR RW
its environment. A genotype is the genes in our DNA which contribute to a certain trait.
Incomplete dominance is where both genes are partially expressed and shows a blend of the W RW WW
two alleles as its phenotype.
Genotypic ratio: 1 RR:2RW:1WW 25% red: 50% pink: 25% white
Phenotypic ratio: 1 Red: 2 Pink: 1 White

6) Blood type in humans is a codominant trait. A female who is heterozygous for type A blood has
children with a male that is heterozygous for type B blood. What are the possible genotypes and
phenotypes that could result?
Codominance is where two alleles are both fully expressed in an organism. IB i
A B A B
Genotype: I I , I i,I i,ii
IA
BA II A Ii
Phenotype: Blood type A, Blood type B, Blood type O

i
IB i ii

7) Male pattern baldness is a sex-linked trait on the X chromosome. For a daughter to inherit the street,
what must the genotypes of her parents be?
A sex-linked trait is a trait that is found specifically on the X or Y sex chromosomes. Male pattern baldness
is a recessive trait. This means for the daughter to inherit it, it must be present on both x’s. This means that
the father is XhY and at least of the mother’s X genes has it.

8) Why is it less likely for females to inherit an X-linked trait than males?
It is less likely for women to inherit an X-linked trait because women have two XX chromosomes while men
have an XY. This means that there is a chance in women that one of the X chromosomes may mask the other.
Since males only have one X chromosomes, if they inherit it, they don’t have another X chromosome to mask
it like women do.

9) What is the structure of DNA (be specific)?

DNA is made up of nucleotides. Each nucleotide has a phosphate and sugar group and a nitrogen base. The
sugar group in DNA is deoxyribose. There are four different nitrogen bases. They are adenine, thymine,
cytosine and guanine. Each base pair has a complimentary base pair that they pair with. Adenine pairs with
Thymine and Cytosine pairs with Guanine. Each of these pieces come together to form a double helix and
interlock with one another.

10) Why is DNA replication important for cellular reproduction?

DNA replication is the process where you can produce two identical copies of DNA from one identical DNA
strand. Cellular reproduction is the process of creating new cells, which is something that cells go through
Biology E. Moretz
Portfolio – Genetics and Evolutions 2017/2018
during mitosis. DNA replication is important for cellular reproduction because DNA cannot leave the nucleus
of a cell. It must make a copy of itself (RNA). The process of transcription is to use DNA to create mRNA. Then
the process of translation helps use mRna (messenger) to make proteins. From there tRNA transfers the RNA
and rRna are essential components of ribosomes. C

11) How does the information encoded in DNA produce a protein? Be specific.
DNA gets transcribed which makes a copy of DNA that can leave the nucleus. The copy is now RNA. RNA then
gets translated into amino acids so it can make a protein.

12) How do mutations affect the expressions of genes? What are two examples of mutagens?
Mutations are a changing of the structure of a gene, which results in a variation of the gene. Mutations
alter the nucleotide pairs in DNA which may code of an incorrect protein. We have learned about two kinds of
mutations. Point mutation is where a single nucleotide base is substituted for a different nitrogen base. The
other type of mutations is a frameshift mutation. A frameshift mutation is where nitrogen bases are added or
deleted. Two examples of mutagens could be radiation or some kind of chemical agent. Both of these things
could cause a mutation.

13) How can genetic engineering improve one's quality of life?

Genetic engineering is where you modify the characteristic of an organism by changing its genes. There are
many kinds of genetic engineering software, such as CRISPR. CRISPR can remove sequences of DNA and
replace is with snippets of chosen genetically modified DNA. You can improve one’s quality of life with this by
getting rid of a potentially fatal disease and replacing it with a DNA sequence that is harmless. This will affect
their offspring for centuries to come as well as create a better quality of life for the person because they are
no longer dealing with a disease.

14) How do environmental factors affect natural selection?

Natural selection is an idea that was proposed by Charles Darwin. Natural selection is the idea that
individuals with heritable traits that better suit the environment will survive. This is the idea of survival of the
fittest. One example of the environment affecting natural selection is peppered moths during the Industrial
Revolution. In England during the Industrial Revolution, trees became filled with soot because of the
mechanization of everything. This made it so that light peppered moths wouldn’t be able to camouflage with
the trees, which led to them being eaten more by birds. This increased the frequency of darker moths which is
a good example of how the environment can affect natural selection.

15) How does genetic diversity influence the species ability to adapt to environmental changes?
The more genetic diversity, the wider of a variety. When an organism’s environment changes, the
population might have to adapt to survive in the constantly changing environment. Their ability to adapt to
the environment will determine if they will survive (more genetic diversity=higher chance of survival).
Biology E. Moretz
Portfolio – Genetics and Evolutions 2017/2018
16) What role do mutations play in the evolution of species?
Mutations are essential to evolution. If a mutation may help an organism live longer, then over time
the species will evolve to all have the mutation. This is because the organisms that are not well suited to
live in the environment (selection pressure) will be eaten by prey, leaving a small gene pool of more fit
organisms.

17) How does selective breeding compare and different from natural selection?
`Selective breeding is forced breeding by humans to get specific characteristics. Natural selection is not forced
by humans. Selective breeding typically does not always enhance survival of a species. In both selective
breeding and natural selection, the traits are inherited from parents, it results in a change in genetic traits of a
species and the change can occur over many generations.

18) How do the following pieces of evidence that support the concept of evolution by natural selection:
DNA, embryonic development, vestigial structures, homologous structures and the fossil record?
DNA supports the concept of evolution by natural selection because of the idea that all of your common
ancestors contributed to your DNA. Embryonic development supports the concept of evolution by natural
selection because all species can be traced down to a common ancestor, but then later evolve into other
species. Vestigial structures support the concept of evolution by natural selection because when you are no
longer in need of certain body structures, your body changes to diminish them. Homologous structures
support the concept of evolution by natural selection because we all have the same structures that came from
organism from our common ancestor. And lastly, fossil record supports the concept of evolution by natural
selection because bones of organisms evolved over time to help the organism execute the tasks they need to
complete.