HSC Biology Flashcards - Reproduction and Genetics

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the HSC Biology syllabus notes on Reproduction, Genetics, and Population Studies.

Week 1 Inquiry Question

The overarching question that deals with reproduction and its relationship with evolution, specifically the continuity of species.

Reproductive Mechanisms

Reproductive mechanisms (how they work) occurring in animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, and protists.

Reproductive Processes

Classifying reproductive processes as sexual or asexual and understanding the mechanisms that allow parent(s) to produce and pass genetic materials onto their offspring.

Reproduction

The process of creating a new individual or offspring from their parent(s).

Sexual reproduction

The process of forming a new organism from the fusion of the offspring’s parents’ (male + female) gametes.

Gametes

Sex cells such as sperm and egg cells for humans.

Asexual reproduction

The process of forming an offspring (usually a cell) from just ONE parent through cell division.

Evolution

The change in living organism’s genetic information, favorable characteristics and phenotypes (appearance or physical traits) over many generations.

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

A popular and widely accepted modern theory of evolution explaining the drivers and consequences of evolution.

Adaptations

Favorable characteristics that allow organisms to survive in their environment can take three forms: Physical, Physiological and Behavioral.

Internal fertilization

Involves the fusion of male and female gametes within a parent’s body; tends to occur between terrestrial animals.

External fertilization

Involves the fusion of male and female gametes outside a parent’s body; tends to occur between aquatic animals.

Parthenogenesis

The process whereby an unfertilized egg develops into a functional offspring. E.g. bees.

Cross pollination

Involves the transfer of pollen, produced by anther, to the stigma of another plant.

Pollination

The process where the pollen is successfully transferred to the stigma of another plant.

Self-pollination

Similar to cross pollination, but it does NOT involve an external agent (bees, water, wind).

Vegetative propagation

A type of asexual reproduction that occurs in plants, resulting in a plant that is genetically identical to the parent.

Fragmentation

When the original organism separates a small part of itself.

Runners

Stems extending from the plant and along the soil.

Bulbs

Bud cells that are found underground and can develop into new plants.

Budding in Fungi

Developing a bud cell, a daughter nucleus; usually occurs when the environmental conditions are favorable.

Spores

Microscopic reproductive units (cells) that can be formed as a result of mitosis or meiosis.

Binary fission in Bacteria

The process starts with the copying the genetic material (in the form of bacterial chromosomes) of the parent cell. Each chromosome moves to each side of the cell, followed by elongation of the cell and cytokinesis where the cell membrane and cytoplasm splits.

Budding in Protists

Similar to fungi. Starts off by the parent protozoan producing a bud, a daughter nucleus, that is created based on the replicate of nucleus DNA, followed by equal nucleus division but unequal separation of the parent protozoan’s cytoplasm.

Binary fission in Protists

Similar to that of bacteria’s binary fission process. DNA is stored in the nucleus, the chromosome will move to each side of the nucleus before the splitting of the nucleus and eventually splitting of the cell membrane and cytoplasm into two daughter cells.

Fertilization

Requires gametes (sperm and egg) to meet and combine to form a zygote.

Gametogenesis

The name of the gamete formation process; can be divided into spermatogenesis (producing sperm) and oogenesis (formation of matured egg cells).

Implantation

The process of adhering the fertilized egg to stick to the walls of the reproductive tract, providing the most suitable environment for zygote development.

Oxytocin hormones

Released during birth to stimulate uterine muscles to increase the strength and frequency of dilation and contraction of the cervix.

Endorphin hormones

Released to increase concentration and relieve pain to focus on the delivery of offspring.

Adrenaline hormones

Released during giving birth due to the body’s response to fear and pain; provides energy for the parent to continue delivering the offspring.

Artificial Insemination

Involves a male sperm cell being inserted into a female’s reproductive tract, leading to fertilization; a form of sexual reproduction.

Artificial Pollination

Involves the manual transfer of pollens into the stigma of another plant to combine with the egg cell (ovule) of the plant; a form of sexual reproduction.

Cloning

A type of asexual reproduction used to create offsprings that are genetically identical to the parent.

In Vitro Fertilisation

A reproductive technique used for increasing the likelihood of developing offspring when couples have fertility problems.

Chromatid

A single-stranded chromosome

Chromosome

A molecule that is made up of DNA and protein

Random Somatic Cell

A somatic (body) cell, i.e. a cell that is not involved in the production of gametes

Interphase

DNA replication occurs. Each chromatid (single stranded chromosome) has its DNA duplicated, forming another chromatid that is genetically identical

Prophase

During prophase, the chromosomes coil up. During prophase, the nuclear membrane dissolves in the cytoplasm.

Metaphase

During metaphase, the chromosomes line up above each other along the poles the cell. The microtubules (fibres structures illustrated as blue lines), which attached to the centrosomes, will now have access and attach to the chromosomes’ centromeres

Anaphase

During Anaphase, the chromatids that are attached to centrosomes via microtubules are being pulled towards opposite sides of the somatic cell.

Telophase

During Telophase, single-stranded coiled chromosomes start to uncoil. Cytokinesis occurs and the nuclear membrane starts to form again.

Germ cell

A germ cell is found in the reproductive organ of an organism can undergo meiosis to produce gametes such as sperm and egg cells, depending on the gender of the organism.

Crossing Over

During crossing over in Prophase I, the double-stranded homologous chromosome pairs (one from father and one from mother) exchange their genetic material.

Metaphase I

As the nuclear membrane dissolves, the microtubules attached to the centrosome can bind with the chromosome at their centromeres.

Anaphase I

The microtubules move the chromosomes in each homologous pair move to different sides of the cell membrane.

Telophase I

The coiled chromatids of each chromosome starts to uncoil. The microtubules begin to break down and a new nuclear membrane is created to enclose the chromosomes.

Random segregation

Each chromatid may contain different alleles for a particular gene which end up in different gametes.

Polymer

a substance that is made up of many repeating units called monomers

Nucleotide

a monomer that has three main components: Each nucleotide has a deoxyribose sugar molecule, a phosphate molecule (negatively charged) and one of the four nitrogenous base

Helicase

an enzyme that attaches to and unwinds the double-stranded DNA helix

DNA polymerase

an enzyme that moves along the DNA strands during this process to catalyse the reaction, allowing complementary base pairing to occur.

DNA ligase

an enzyme, secures each of the new DNA strands formed with free nucleotides (monomers) with complementary base pairing.

Autosome

a chromosome in an organism that is not a sex chromosome

Sex-Linked or X-Linked Inheritance

the allele is responsible for expression sex-linked traits

Co-dominance Inheritance

occurs when both alleles for a trait are expressed at the same time without blending of the trait that each allele specifies

Incomplete Dominance Inheritance

both alleles for a given gene are expressed meaning that neither of the two alleles have complete dominance over the other. However, for traits that are incomplete dominant, there is a blending of the two parents’ phenotypes which that visible in the offspring’s phenotype. NOTE: ‘Blending’ could refer to the blending of the genetic material (alleles).

Multiple Alleles Inheritance

For some traits, there may be multiple alleles that code for such traits

Pedigrees

a chart, similar to a tree diagram, that illustrates all the different phenotypes (and sometimes genotypes) of individuals in a family across several generations

Polymorphism

refers to the presence of two or more alleles for a gene that exist in at least 1% of the species population.

Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP)

is the scenario where one nucleotide in the genome of an individual is different to the rest of the population’s nucleotide at the same locus of the chromosome (or same location in the DNA or gene)

Synonymous SNPs

Substitution of nucleotide occurs. These changes the codon sequence but does NOT lead to a change in the amino acid sequence as the new codon sequence specifies the same amino acid

Non-synonymous SNPs

Substitution of nucleotide occurs. These will also change the codon sequence but WILL lead to a change in the amino acid sequence as the new codon sequence specifies a different amino acid

Genetic variability

contributes to genetic diversity. Genetic diversity in a population refers to the sum of all traits in a population

Population genetics

involves the study of the frequency of alleles for one or more genes in a population due to changes in selective pressures in the environment over time

Gregor Mendel

studied pea plants and performed a lot experiments with them via artificial pollination

monohybrid crosses

We only dealt with parents that have different alleles for the same, single trait.

dihybrid crosses

that it will parents that have different alleles for two traits. This means that in our Punnett Square, we need to consider alleles for two traits at the same time

conservation genetics

is key to maintaining and ensuring that the species of conservation concern is able to adapt to changing selective pressures in the environment over time

Albany cycad plants

the team of scientists including Jessica M.Da.Silva, John S.Donaldson, Gail Reeves and Terry A.Hedderson.

The Fst value

was 0.026 between the in-situ and ex-situ population.

AMOVA,

is a technique used in the study to examine a population’s genetic variation between subpopulation by examining the details of the identified AFLP genetic markers.

F-statistics

is a type of data analytics that is used to test for the significance of the hypothesis based on the hypothesis and results obtained from AMOVA.

Alzheimer’s Project

the large scale collaborative project called the International Genomics of Alzheimer’s Project (IGAP)

Anthropological genetics

is the study of human population genetics.

replacement hypothesis

proposes that the Homo Erectus (type of hominid before evolving into homo sapiens) originated and migrated out of subSaharan African into different parts of the Old World about 2 million years ago.

multi-regional hypothesis

also proposes that the Homo Erectus (type of hominid before evolving into homo sapiens) originated and migrated out of subSaharan African into different parts of the Old World about 2 million years ago.

mitochrondrial DNA

Every human’s mitochrondrial DNA (mtDNA) is ONLY inherited from their mother which does NOT recombine with mtDNA DNA from the father

Lucy

known for the hominid, believed to be an ancient ancestor of human civilisation, that existed more than 3 million years ago.

Sanger sequencing

is the basic methodology under which modern computerised DNA sequencing techniques are performed

DNA fingerprinting

In DNA fingerprinting or profiling, the DNA bands that are formed CANNOT be used to determine the precise nucleotide that makes up the DNA sequence of the complementary DNA strand (and thus original DNA sequence).