My instructor sent me this in an email to study for a final. Please help me cons

Question

My instructor sent me this in an email to study for a final. Please help me construct the best possible answer for this as I have not written a satisfactory answer to the first question all semester.

1) As you know the final does include a comprehensive component regarding the gene and genome. (80 pts)

This first question has to be extremely detailed. For example, "A gene is a unit of inheritance. The gene carries information for it to be passed from one generation to the next. When you combine a gene with the environment you are five the necessities for a phenotype. There are many gene types and elements such as the genes for RNAs that carry information to make proteins, genes for transfer RNAs that carry amino acids to the ribosomes, genes for ribosomal RNAs that are required for structure, function and activities of a ribosome, genes for small nuclear RNAs that make up the spliceosome and help to splice introns, and the genes for telomerase RNA component (TERC). A gene must also include many parts such as introns, exons, core promoters, regulatory promoters, activators, downstream promoter enzymes (DPE), and many others. These parts of the genes as well as the different gene types must allow for some variation in certain conditions to allow evolution to occur. A gene must also be able to be passed on, or inherited from one generation to the next." Figures and drawings are also appreciated by my instructor. If you could basically just throw everything you can think of within a gene or a genome at this question that would be greatly appreciated.

2) You will also need to study genetic mapping, DNA as a digital storage device, X chromosome inactivation and synthetic biology. (35 pts)

Explanation / Answer

Here are few points on genes, apart from the ones you mentioned:-

1. Genes are clustered into functional groups or operons in bacteria, but are single entities in eukaryotes.

2. The DNA of a gene is generally in the loosened(less dense) Euchromatin fraction of the DNA so that it can be accessed by proteins like Transcription factors etc.

3. Genes lead to mRNAs which usualy start with AUG/GUG(rare), and end with a STOP codon (UAA, UAG, UGA or ambre, ochre and opal)

4. The genome is ocated inside the nucleus in eukaryotes whereas it is cytoplasmic in prokaryotes.

5. Each diploid Organism has two alleles of a gene. Sometimes one of the alleles is shut down to stop overcompensation of the trait. Eg:- X chromosome inactivation.

6. Genomes vary greatly in size. Eg:E.coli genome = 4.6 milion bp, Human=3 billion bp

7.The genome is constantly undergoing epigenetic modifications to respond to environmental cues. These include Acetylation and Methylation of histones etc.

8. Mutations in genes lead to evolution of the genome of an organism. These may be point mutations or larger mutations like deletions, inversions etc.

9. The genome of bacteria are circular whereas our DNA is linear and organised into chromosomes with telomeres at the ends.

10. The importance of genes is obtained by seeing their homology in different evolutionary stages

11. Genes have various copy numbers in different organisms. There are also pseudogenes, which have a non-functional full length gene with a few mutations.

2. Genetic MApping Steps -

1. Get the DNA from two individuals.

2. Look at some common genetic markers (any sequence feature that can be faithfully distinguished from the two parents)

3. Check for the closeness of these markers to map the genes. By closeness I mean that if two markers are close to each other, they will more likely be passed on together to the next generation.

4. Do this for a number of markers to map the genes and create a genetic map

DNA as a digital storage device

1. DNA is better than conventional HDDs as it is extremely compact, has a high data density, and has immaculate longevity, making it an ideal source of data storage. Moreover, it can be customised as Oligonucleotides of any length can be synthesized. Problems are the standardization of the set of oligonucleotides and the requirement of expensive sequencing technologies to extract the data.

X chromosome inactivation

This is a case in which one copy of the X chromosome is silenced in the adult female to avoid over compensation of the genes on the X-chromosome in the female vs the male. This is because male contains only one X chromosome. This is an epigenetic phenomenon wherein a random choice is made and one X chromosome s heterochromatinized using a long non-coding RNA known as Xist (X-inactive specific transcript), which is made by the future ACTIVE chromosome, and silences the OTHER copy of the same chromosome (i.e. acts in trans). The excess Xist is neutraized by a complementary Non-coding RNA to Xist , known as Tsix.

Synthetic Biology:-

Acc to Wikipedia - Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary branch of biology, combining disciplines such as biotechnology, evolutionary biology, molecular biology, systemsbiology, biophysics, computer engineering, and genetic engineering. This has a number of research examples including but not limited to synthesizing genetic pathways and even whole genomes of organisms, obtaining unnatural neucleotides and amino acids as drug targets, DNA data storage phenomenon, biosensors etc.

CHEERS

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