Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
214
Exam
2
April
10,
2014
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___________________________
Exam
number:______________________
Part
A.
Multiple
Choice.
Unless
otherwise
indicated,
each
multiple
choice
question
has
1
correct
answer
and
is
worth
3
points.
1.
Illustrated
below
are
the
first
seven
codons
of
the
mRNA
encoded
by
the
E.
coli
isoleucyl
tRNA
synthetase
gene.
Which
one
of
the
following
mutations
do
you
expect
to
have
the
least
effect
on
the
resulting
protein?
(a) Nuclear
proteins
carry
a
nuclear
localization
signal
that
has
a
consensus
sequence.
(b) Proteins
destined
for
secretion
carry
a
hydrophobic
signal
sequence.
(c) The
signal
sequence
can
be
removed
from
a
protein,
but
only
when
ribosomes
are
membrane-‐bound.
(d) An
internal
signal
sequence
can
become
part
of
the
transmembrane
domain
of
a
mature
protein.
(e) None
of
these
statements
is
false.
2
Exam
number:______________________
5.
The
wobble
hypothesis
explains:
0"
#3"
(a)
There
is
a
gene
that
has
binding
sites
for
both
let7i
and
miR200c
in
its
3′
UTR.
In
which
cells
do
you
expect
to
see
abundant
expression
of
this
gene?
(a) Of
the
miRNAs
shown,
miR200c
is
more
highly
expressed
than
any
of
the
others
in
S
cells.
(b) I
cells
express
miR200c
at
lower
levels
than
S
cells
do.
(c) miR200c
is
expressed
at
higher
levels
in
S
cells
than
in
non-‐cancerous
prostate
cells.
(d) miR200c
is
not
expressed
in
I
cells.
(e) miR191,
miR103,
and
miR15b
are
all
expressed
at
low
levels
in
both
S
and
I
cells.
3
Exam
number:______________________
Part
B.
Short
Answer.
Point
values
for
each
question
are
indicated
in
parentheses.
1.
(This
question
continues
from
#6
of
the
multiple
choice
section.)
You
are
interested
in
the
let7i
homolog
in
C.
elegans
and
want
to
find
out
when
it
is
expressed
during
development.
Which
of
the
following
techniques
would
provide
that
information
to
you?
For
techniques
that
would
not
be
suitable,
explain
why
they
wouldn’t
be.
(4
points)
yes/no?
if
no,
why
not?
northern
blot
yes
western
blot
no
Western
blots
are
for
proteins.
microRNAs
are
not
proteins.
spectral
no
Spectral
karyotyping
looks
at
chromosomes
in
a
genome…
karyotyping
6
Exam
number:______________________
10.
Certain
bacteria
can
make
light
when
they
reach
a
high
concentration.
The
genes
coding
for
enzymes
that
are
needed
to
generate
light
(luxC,
luxD,
luxA,
luxB,
luxE)
are
organized
in
the
lux
operon
as
shown
below.
The
operon
is
always
transcribed
at
a
low
level.
Near
the
operon
is
the
gene
for
a
protein
called
LuxR.
The
bacteria
secrete
a
small
molecule
called
autoinducer
that
accumulates
in
the
medium.
When
the
bacteria,
and
thus
autoinducer,
reach
a
high
concentration,
transcription
of
the
operon
increases
dramatically.
(a)
If
LuxR
is
deleted,
transcription
of
the
lux
operon
does
not
increase
when
autoinducer
accumulates.
Propose
a
mechanism
to
account
for
regulation
of
the
lux
operon
by
LuxR
and
autoinducer.
What
kind
of
a
regulator
is
LuxR?
Use
a
rectangle
to
indicate
where
you
would
expect
LuxR
to
bind
to
the
operon.
(4)
LuxR
is
an
activator
of
the
lux
operon.
When
there
is
autoinducer
present,
it
binds
to
LuxR
and
LuxR
bound
to
autoinducer
can
bind
near
the
promoter
(box
indicated)
to
recruit
RNA
polymerase.
Credit
given
for
other
mechanisms
(AI
acting
at
LuxR’s
promoter).
-‐1
for
confusing
terms
(enhancer
or
promoter
in
place
of
activator,
RNA
for
DNA,
ribosome
for
pol,
etc.)
LuxR
should
not
overlap
the
promoter
(which
would
be
characteristic
of
a
repressor).
(But!
The
placement
of
the
box
was
graded
according
to
whether
you
called
LuxR
an
activator
or
repressor.)
(b)
Expression
of
LuxR
is
also
regulated
according
to
the
concentration
of
bacteria.
At
low
concentration,
and
thus
low
concentration
of
autoinducer,
LuxR
is
not
expressed;
whereas
at
high
autoinducer
concentration,
LuxR
is
expressed.
Transcription
of
the
luxR
gene
is
not
affected,
however.
Propose
a
mechanism
to
explain
how
LuxR
expression
is
regulated
by
autoinducer.
(3)
Regulation
has
to
be
post-‐transcriptional
but
there
are
many
possible
ways
that
this
could
happen.
Could
be
negative
regulation
or
positive
regulation
by
sRNA.
Full
credit
for
relief
of
translational
repression
or
mRNA
degradation
by
any
mechanism.
Half
credit
for
AI
being
a
translation
initiation
factor.
(c)
LuxR
has
a
helix-‐turn-‐helix
DNA
binding
domain.
The
sequence
of
the
DNA
in
the
region
where
LuxR
binds
to
the
operon
is
shown
below:
5'-‐AGATTACCTGTAGGATCGTACAGGATCATC-‐3'
partial
credit
for
acknowledgment
of
3'-‐TACAATGGACATCCTAGCATGTCCTAGTCG-‐5'
palindromes
/
dimer
reqs
(0.5
each)
Circle
the
bases
that
you
predict
LuxR
recognizes
and
binds
to.
Where
in
the
DNA
helix
would
you
predict
that
LuxR
binds
to
the
DNA
bases
(4)?
LuxR
should
bind
in
the
major
groove.
(1pt)
7
Exam
number:______________________
11.
Temperature-‐sensitive
mutants
were
crucial
to
identifying
proteins
involved
in
secretion.
(a)
Would
you
consider
a
temperature
sensitive
mutation
to
be
a
type
of
missense
mutation
or
a
type
of
nonsense
mutation?
Explain
your
answer.
(3)
Ts
mutants
case
a
change
from
one
amino
acid
to
another
so
they
are
missense
mutations.
-‐0.5
for
extra
wrong
info
(e.g.
wrong
definition
of
nonsense
mutation).
(b)
What
is
the
special
property
of
proteins
with
temperature
sensitive
mutations
and
why
was
it
so
useful
for
studying
the
secretory
pathway?
(3)
With
Ts
mutants,
the
protein
is
functional
at
lower
temperature
but
nonfunctional
at
higher
temperature.
They
could
answer
the
converse
and
it
would
also
be
correct
since
cold
sensitive
mutants
could
also
considered
to
be
ts
–
they
just
have
to
indicate
that
the
protein
is
functional
at
one
temperature
and
not
at
another.
(2
pts)
It
was
essential
because
mutations
that
completely
disrupt
the
function
of
proteins
involved
in
secretion
would
prevent
the
cell
from
growing
(or
would
kill
the
cell)
and
therefore
you
couldn't
grow
cells
to
study
them.
Using
ts
mutants
allowed
them
to
grow
up
the
cells,
and
then
turn
off
the
protein
function
and
ask
what
happened
to
secretion.
(1
pt)
12.
How
does
the
mode
of
action
differ
between
eukaryotic
and
prokaryotic
repressors?
(3)
Prokaryotic
repressors
physically
block
polymerase
(1.5
pts),
while
eukaryotic
repressors
do
not.
1.5
pts
for
any
example
of
something
eukaryotic
repressors
do
instead
(physically
block
activators,
cause
histone
deacetylation).
Partial
credit
for
confusion
of
pol/ribosome
or
DNA/RNA.
13.
Explain
how
histone
acetylation
affects
gene
expression.
(3)
Acetylation
causes
relaxtion
of
histones,
allowing
greater
accessibility
of
the
underlying
DNA
to
RNA
polymerase.
1
point
for
noncommittal
answer
(e.g.
open/closed
DNA,
increase/decrease
expression)
8
Exam
number:______________________
14.
Illustrated
to
the
right
is
an
EMSA
performed
with
the
Iron
Response
Element
Binding
Protein
(IRE-‐BP),
and
200
bases
of
the
5′
UTR
of
the
ferritin
mRNA
that
is
radioactively
labeled.
(a)
The
sample
in
Lane
1
is
the
5'UTR
RNA
without
any
protein
added,
and
the
samples
in
lanes
2
and
3
contain
RNA
plus
IRE-‐BP,
either
in
the
presence
or
absence
of
iron.
1 2 3"
Which
lane
had
iron
in
the
sample,
and
which
lane
did
not?
Explain
your
answer
in
one
sentence.
(2)
"" ""
Lane
3
had
iron,
and
lane
2
did
not.
(1
pt)
Iron
binding
causes
IRE-‐BP
to
release
from
the
IRE.
(1
pt)
(b)
Would
your
result
have
been
different
if
you
had
used
the
3′
UTR
of
the
transferrin
mRNA?
Explain
your
answer
in
one
sentence.
(2)
Yes,
the
results
would
have
been
the
same
(1
pt)
—
IRE-‐BP
would
have
the
same
behavior
with
the
IRE
in
the
3′
UTR
of
transferrin
(1
pt).
(c)
In
each
case,
does
the
presence
of
iron
result
in
positive
or
negative
regulation?
(2)
In
the
presence
of
iron,
ferritin
is
positively
regulated
and
transferrin
is
negatively
regulated.
(This
is
the
opposite
of
the
activity
of
IRE-‐BP
on
these
genes.)
15.
Fire
and
Mello
demonstrated
that
double-‐stranded
RNA
was
much
more
potent
than
single-‐
stranded
antisense
RNA
in
silencing
genes
by
RNAi,
even
though
it
is
only
the
antisense
RNA
that
binds
the
target
RNA.
Why
is
double-‐stranded
RNA
more
effective
at
silencing
gene
expression
than
antisense
RNA?
(3)
There
could
be
multiple
answers
to
this
question.
dsRNA
dicer
is
incorporated
into
the
RISC
complex,
which
helps
to
direct
it
to
the
target
RNA
whereas
antisense
RNA
does
not
have
assistance
in
locating
its
target.
The
RISC
complex
degrades
the
target,
which
is
a
non-‐reversible
silencing
mechanism.
Antisense
RNA
probably
blocks
translation
but
this
is
reversible
and
may
not
be
as
effective
as
degrading
the
transcript.
Another
possibility
would
be
that
single
stranded
RNA
(as
in
antisense)
is
less
stable
than
double
stranded
RNA.
This
was
not
covered
explicitly
in
class
so
anything
along
these
lines
would
be
fine.
9
Exam
number:______________________
16.
The
following
graph
represents
the
data
from
an
experiment
in
which
pooled
DNA
from
three
sources
is
fragmented,
heated
to
97oC,
and
then
gradually
cooled.
During
cooling,
samples
of
the
DNA
solution
are
removed
and
the
percentage
of
DNA
that
is
A"
reannealed
is
measured.
Link
each
of
the
following
types
of
DNA
with
a
labeled
portion
of
the
plot.
Each
labeled
portion
can
be
used
once,
more
than
once,
or
not
at
all.
Explain
your
reasoning.
(4)
B"
i. Reassociation
of
exon
DNA
(human)
ii. Reassociation
of
DNA
from
a
small
virus
(40,000
bp)
with
no
repetitive
DNA
C"
iii. Reassociation
DNA
from
E.
coli
(5
million
bp)
with
no
repetitive
DNA
None
of
this
DNA
is
intrinsically
repetitive,
but
there
will
be
more
copies
of
the
viral
DNA
per
unit
concentration
(since
the
genome
is
so
small).
Same
logic
for
E.
coli
vs.
human
exon
DNA.
1
point
for
each
letter
and
1
point
for
explanation.
We
would
also
accept
cascading
assignment
(ii
=
A+B+C;
iii
=
B+C,
and
i
=
C),
but
only
if
all
correct.
17.
Explain
why
Cut-‐and-‐Paste
DNA
transposition
is
associated
with
the
creation
of
direct
repeats.
(2)
The
transposon
is
inserted
with
short
staggered
breaks
in
the
host
chromosome.
When
these
are
repeated
the
result
is
a
direct
repeat.
18.
In
humans,
Alu
transposons
are
associated
with
mutations
in
1
out
of
every
100
to
200
births.
Explain
how
this
transposition
event
could
produce
a
mutation.
(2)
It
will
produce
a
mutation
if
it
transposes
into
an
expressed
or
control
region.
1
pt
for
explaining
what
transposition
does;
1
pt
for
where.
19.
Define
genetic
anticipation
and
explain
how
tandem
repeats
play
a
role
in
some
cases.
(3)
The
worsening
of
phenotype
with
successive
generations.
Expressed
as
earlier
onset,
more
severe
manifestations,
or
both.
(1.5
pts)
Tandem
repeats
may
expand
during
germ
cell
formation.
(1.5)
10