A biologist used microarrays to examine how gene expression in a fish changes wi

Question

A biologist used microarrays to examine how gene expression in a fish changes with temperature. Refer to the table showing the expression levels of four (of several thousand) genes at varying temperatures. Values for expression have been normalized such that the expression at 15°C for any particular gene is always 100.

The product of gene 1246 is an inhibitor of a pigment that makes fish red. Thus, all other things being equal and assuming that a 25 percent change in expression level is sufficient for a color change, what should be expected?

A) The fish would be the most red at the lowest temperatures. Temperatuc Gene 145 Gene 789Gene 1053 Gene 1246 10 15 20 25 45 78 100 123 149 97 108 100 67 92 100 87 58 189 134 100 67 40 104

Explanation / Answer

The correct answer is B, the fish would be the most red at the highest temperatures.

The product of gene1246 is an inhibitor of red pigmentation. That means, when it is overexpressed, it inhibits pigmentation and 25% more expression is enough to inhibit. At 5 and 10 degrees, it is highly overexpressed and inhibits red pigmentation. At 20 and 25 degrees, it was completely downregulated and cannot inhibit red pigmentation, making fish most red. This must be inhibitng the product of gene 145, as its expression levels are correlating with red pigmentation.

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