Review Topics for Final (3rd) Exam
General Biology I
2012 Fall
Mitosis
• Relate cell division to the reproduction of unicellular organisms and the growth
and repair of multicellular organisms.
• Name two general functions of cell division.
• Describe a duplicated eukaryotic chromosome.
• State the stages of the eukaryotic cell cycle, and describe what happens during
each stage.
• Describe how the cell cycle is believed to be controlled, and relate this
mechanism to the development of cancer.
• Draw a series of diagrams illustrating the phases of mitosis in animal cells, and
tell what happens during each phase; describe cytokinesis in animal cells.
• State differences between plant & animal cell mitosis; describe cytokinesis in
plant cells.
• Describe the prokaryotic chromosome and the process of binary fission.
Meiosis
• State the general role of meiosis in plant, animal, and fungal life cycles.
• Describe & state the significance of homologous chromosomes.
• Give an overview of the process of meiosis and its stages, emphasizing the main
events.
• Describe synapsis (bivalent formation), and tell how crossing-over occurs.
• Describe the phases of meiosis I in detail.
• Describe the phases of meiosis II in detail.
• Describe the human life cycle, and compare the process of meiosis to that of
mitosis.
• Compare the process of spermatogenesis to that of oogenesis.
Mendelian Genetics
• Mendel’s Experimental Tool – Pea Plant Characteristics
• Mendel’s Principle of Segregation: Monohybrid Crosses
• Punnett Square Analysis
• Concepts of Homozygous Dominance; Homozygous Recessive; Heterozygosity;
Alleles
• Pedigree Charts for Human Traits: Dominant Pedigree: Juvenile Glaucoma;
Recessive Pedigree: Albinism
• Mendel’s Principle of Independent Assortment: Dihybrid Crosses
• Probability: Predicting Results of Crosses (Rule of Addition and Rule of
Multiplication)
• Testcross: Revealing Unknown Genotypes
• Extensions of Mendelian Genetics:
• Polygenic Inheritance (Human Height) More than one gene affects a single trait
• Pleiotropy: A single gene can affect more than one trait
• Incomplete Dominance: Example Four O’clock Flowers
• Codominance: Example Human ABO Blood Group System; Concept of Multiple
Alleles
• Genes May Be Affected By Environment: Effect of Temperature on Siamese Cat
Coat
• Epistasis: Corn Color
Modern Genetics
• Sex Linkage and the Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance:
• Morgan’s Tool: Gene for Drosophila Eye Color and the concept of Sex
Chromosomes
• Human Sex Determination: Concept of X and Y Chromosomes
• Sex-linked Human Genetic Disorder: Hemophilia – The Royal Family
Hemophilia Pedigree
• Barr Body – concept of X-Chromosome Inactivation and Dosage Compensation
• Nondisjunction of autosomes (example Down Syndrome) and Sex Chromosomes
• In utero detection methods for genetic defects: Amniocentesis, Chorionic villi
sampling
• Exceptions to the Chromosomal Theory of Inheritance: Concept of Maternal
Inheritance – Mitochondrial and Chloroplast Genes
• DNA as Genetic Material:
• Griffith’s Tool: Streptococcus pneumonia and Transformation
• Avery, MacLeod, McCarty: DNA as Transforming Principle
• Hershey & Chase: Phage Genetic Material is DNA
DNA
• DNA structure – phosphate, sugar, nitrogenous base
o Complementation, hydrogen bonds, phosphodiester bonds,
purines/pyrimidines
o
• DNA replication – semi-conservative
o DNA polymerase, helicase, topoisomerase, primase, primer,
Okazaki fragments, single strand binding proteins, leading strand,
lagging strand, DNA ligase.
Transcription & Translation
• Garrod: inherited disorders involve enzymes (Alkaptoneuria)
• One Gene-One Polypetide Theory
• Central Dogma
• Genetic Code: Reading Frame, Degeneracy
• Overview of Transcription:
• Template/Coding DNA strands
• Types of RNA
• Process of transcription: RNA Polymerase; Initiation, Elongation, Termination
(basic overview only)
• Overview of Translation:
• tRNA structure: Acceptor end/anticodon loop
• Ribosomes: P, A and E sites
• Process of translation: Initiation, Elongation, Termination (basic overview only)
Gene Expression
• Operons - Lac Operon, Trp Operon
• Differential gene expression
• Regulation of chromatin structure – acetylation, methylation
• Ras & p53 – role in cancer
Biotechnology:
• Molecular Cloning:
• Enzymes: Restriction Endonucleases, DNA Ligase
• Plasmid Vectors: MCS, Ori, Selection
• Transformation: Introducing DNA into E.coli
• Application: Human Insulin can be mass produced in E.coli
• Genetic Engineering: Knockout and Transgenic Mice (Concept Only) Use
examples of Leptin KO and GH transgene
• Applications:
• Human Insulin can be mass produced in E. coli
• GM crops: Insect resistant crops (Bt crops) and Golden Rice as examples