Genetics and Heredity - Video Lecture Notes

A set of Q&A flashcards covering key concepts, history, and applications from the Genetics and Heredity lecture notes.

What is Genetics?

The branch of biology dealing with heredity and variation, derived from the Greek word gen meaning to become or to grow.

What is heredity?

The passing of traits from parents to offspring.

What is variation?

Differences among individuals in traits due to genetic and environmental factors.

What is a gene?

The fundamental unit of heredity.

What is Pangenesis?

A theory that the body's parts shed gemmules that migrate to gametes and contribute to offspring.

What is the Blending Hypothesis of Inheritance?

The idea that genetic material from two parents blends like pigments to form offspring.

Who proposed the Germplasm Theory?

August Weismann, suggesting hereditary material resides in germ cells.

Who proposed the Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics?

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.

What is the Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance?

The idea that genes are located on chromosomes; proposed by Sutton and Boveri.

What did Mendel’s pea experiments show?

Traits are inherited as discrete units (genes) with predictable patterns, revealing dominant and recessive traits.

Who described nucleic acids in the 1870s?

Friedrich Miescher.

What did Thomas Morgan’s work demonstrate?

That genes lie on chromosomes.

What did Barbara McClintock describe?

Mobile genetic elements (transposons) in maize.

What is the Central Dogma?

DNA -> RNA -> Protein as the flow of genetic information.

Who proposed the DNA double helix structure?

James Watson and Francis Crick (with contributions from Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins).

What did Griffith’s experiment demonstrate?

Transformation of bacteria, showing genetic change can occur in DNA.

What did Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty show in 1944?

Nucleic acids are the transforming principle responsible for genetic change.

Who coined the word 'gene'?

Wilhelm Johannsen (1909).

What is the Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance date range?

Early 1900s work by Walter Sutton and Theodor Boveri (1902–1903).

What is PCR and who invented it?

Polymerase Chain Reaction; invented by Kary Mullis in 1975.

What is the Human Genome Project notable for?

Initial results published in 2001; mapping the human genome.

Who discovered restriction enzymes and when were they Nobel Prize-winning?

Werner Arber, Hamilton Smith, and Daniel Nathans (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1978).

What did Sharp and Roberts find about genes?

Protein-coding genes are carried in segments (exons) rather than as a continuous stretch.

What is CRISPR–Cas9 and its significance?

A genome-editing method; Nobel Prize awarded to Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier in 2020.

Who is the Father of Genetics?

Gregor Mendel, Austrian monk who studied inheritance in peas.

What was Mendel’s experimental approach?

Crossed true-breeding plants with contrasting traits, focusing on one trait at a time.

What is a dominant trait?

The trait that is expressed in the heterozygous condition.

What is a recessive trait?

The trait that is not expressed in the presence of a dominant allele.

What is the F2 generation ratio in Mendel’s monohybrid crosses?

Approximately 3:1 (dominant:recessive) in phenotype.

What is DNA’s role in genetic material?

DNA carries genetic information and is part of the Central Dogma (DNA -> RNA -> Protein).

What is gene expression?

The process by which a gene’s information is used to synthesize a functional product, typically RNA and protein.

What are the two basic types of cells?

Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells.

Where are genes located?

On chromosomes.

What are mutations?

Changes in genetic information that can be passed from cell to cell or from parent to offspring.

What is the scope of genetics for individuals and species?

For individuals: development and maintenance of unique patterns; for species: transfer of these systems to the next generation and evolution over time.

What are major applications of genetics?

Plant, animal and microbial improvement; medicine; genetic counseling; legal applications.

What is genetic discrimination and its regulatory context?

Discrimination based on genetic information; discussed in the context of European-level regulation and legal responses.