Mutations flashcards

Mutations are a permanent inheritable change in the genetic material of organism. They cause messed up DNA which leads to  messed up mRNA,tRNA,A.A., proteins and finally messed up cells? Most mutations are harmful (ex: sickle cell anemia).

There are 1. Framshift mutations which are nucleotide insertions or deletions which "shift down the entire DNA 'code'". 2. the second type are point mutations which are the substitution of one nucleotide for another.

The three subclasses of mutations are 1. Silent mutations in which the there is no apparent effect on the polypeptide produced (ex: TAC turns into TAT but it still makes tyrosine). 2. The second type is mis-sense mutation in which an altered or different protein is created (ex: TAC turns into AAC which is asparagine not tyrosoine). 3. Third are Non sense mutations in which a functional polypeptide is not produced, it makes a stop** (Ex: TAG into UAG).

Mutagens (teratogens) cause mutations. Mutations can either be physical and caused by x-rays, gamma rays and UV radiation or chemical and caused by carcinogens such as Nitrites, gas fumes and smokes. Nucleotides can either be inserted, deleted or substituted.

Since we beleive we got mitochondria by keeping a prehistortic mitochondria bacteria (why it has circular DNA) inside of us, that means mitochondrial DNA does not mutate when our DNA does and mitochondria's are only passed down in eggs not sperm. We can use this to find human ancestors only in the mothers lineage though. So we tried tracing mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to show relationships.

It is when you take genetic information from one organism anfd splice it into the chromosome of another, this allows for two organisms that would ot could never exchange genetic information to be spliced.

1.First a donor gene for insulin is cut out from a human gene by restriction enzyme specifically leaving "sticky ends". 2.Then the same enzymes cut out bacterial plasmid(DNA) making the same sticky ends. 3.Third ligase fuses the donor gene to the plasmid and bonds the backbones and bases. 4.Fourth the transgenic bacteria produce insulen we can harvest.

• 1. Argricultural, It can be used to make crops resistant to pest/disease, increase crops nutritional value and yield, and it can be used for cloning.
• 2. Medical, Biotechnology can be used to create medicines and remove harmful genes.
• 3. Legal, It can be used for DNA fingerprints/paternity and crime

Biotechnology uses living things to make products for sale  (Ex: yeast to make pig food, fuel and vaccines) The debate behind biotech is Is it safe? Is it moral? Who can patent GMO's, Animal rights and what if a GMO escapes?

Gene therapy is the alteration of an afflicted individual's genes. Vectors are used for the delivery of genes into cells. The Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a reaction in which DNA is heated up to seperate strands and then cooled to allow primers to form which will allow replication to take replication to take place. This can be repeated as many times as you need to copy a specific segment of DNA.

It is using gel and electricity to seperate DNA fragments to create a DNA prices sequence. First DNA is cut into pieces by restriction enzymes which creates pieces of dna of various sizes. Then the pieces are placed into gel with a positive and negative side. Since DNA is slightly negative it disperses downwards towards the positive end, but the larger peices are stopped earlier by gel while the smaller pieces go much further down. This creates a way for us to compare two multiple strands of DNA which can be used to find a criminal or for paternity.

Operons are clusters of genes often found in bacteria, they're often composed of An Operator ("on-off switch"), A promoter and genes for metabolic enzymes. An operon can be switch off by a protein called a repressor (ex: enzymes to produce trytophan). Trytophan (TRP) is a useful protein that activates a repressor to stop producing TRP making enzymes when there is too much TRP. The lactose operon is used for the metabolism of lactose by bacteria. When there is no lactose it is turned off since it is wasteful to make enzymes. When there is lactose present it binds to the lac repressor and makes it snap off so lactose digesting enzymes can start being made.