Exam 1: Introduction to Genetics

What is the term given to the theory which states that the fertilized egg contains a complete miniature adult?

A number of genomes have been sequenced in recent years: Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, and Mus musculus. What are the common names for these organisms?

What term is used to describe the fact that different genes in an organism often provide differences in observable features?

Until the mid-1940s, many scientists considered proteins to be the likely candidates for the genetic material. Why?

Recombinant DNA technology is dependent on a particular class of enzymes, known as ________ that cuts DNA at specific nucleotide sequences.

A fundamental property of DNA's nitrogenous bases that is necessary for the double-stranded nature of its structure is ________.

What is a simple definition of an allele?

In nonviral systems, what is the nature of the hereditary substance?

Reference is often made to adapter molecules when describing protein synthesis in that they allow amino acids to associate with nucleic acids. To what class of molecules does this term refer?

Genetics is the study of heredity and variation.

What is a transgenic organism?

Research dealing with which human blood disorder was instrumental in linking the genotype to a specific phenotype, and what conclusion was reached?

Distinguish the functions of DNA and RNA in a eukaryote.

Complementarity in a genetic sense refers to the polymerization of nucleotides in DNA.

What does the term genetics mean?

Name two individuals who provided the conceptual basis for our present understanding that genes are on chromosomes.

Arabidopsis is a model organism for the study of ________.

What is meant by complementarity in terms of the structure of DNA?

Who was the Augustinian monk that conducted a decade of experiments on the garden pea, eventually showing that traits are passed from parents to offspring in predictable ways?

Alternative forms of a gene are called ________.