Download Notes with questions

Life is Tough!
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Species share many features in common to
help survive and reproduce successfully
This is the “story” of those shared strategies!
Strategies of Living Systems:
Features Common to all Life Forms
17 November 2015
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Introduction to life
Themes/characteristics of living
organisms
Classification of life’s different
species (1.8 million and counting)
Case study: bacteria and virus
Characteristics of all Living
Organisms
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Hierarchy theory, emergent properties and the
infrastructure we call the cell
Continuity of life: function of “information”
Openness of biological systems
Regulatory capacity of living systems
Capacity to reproduce
Capacity to acquire, utilize, and store energy
Diversity and similarity of living organisms
Hierarchical Nature of Living
Systems
Community
Population
Organism
Organ
Tissue
Functional unit in biology = Cell
Analogue to atom in chemistry
and physics and ecosystems in
ecology
Cell
Hierarchy theory and emergent
properties
Organelles
Macromolecules
Atoms
Cell: Structure and Function
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Organism’s basic unit of structure and function
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Lowest level of structure capable of performing all of
life’s activities (e.g., irritability, reproduce, grow,
develop, etc.)
Cell Theory
Ubiquitous (plant, animal and microbe)
 All cells from previous cells (no cells created from
scratch)
 Why called a theory versus a law?
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General Cell Infrastructure
Reproduction …. Energy Utilization … Response to the Environment …
Information Rich … Hierarchy
Characteristics of all Living
Organisms
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Hierarchy theory, emergent properties and the
infrastructure we call the cell
Continuity of life: function of “information”
Openness of biological systems
Regulatory capacity of living systems
Capacity to reproduce
Capacity to acquire, utilize, and store energy
Diversity and similarity of living organisms
Continuity of Life and “Information”
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Order in any system via instructions as
a template (e.g., Constitution, Bill of
Rights, legal contracts, language, …)
In living systems, instructions codified
in the DNA
Instructions: precise, sequential order
of nucleotides (ATCG; the alphabet of
“instructions”)
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Example: RAT versus TAR versus ART
A = adenine
C= cytosine
G = guanine
T = thymine
Nucleotides
Open Systems
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All living organisms: open,
allowing interaction with the
environment
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Process stimuli
Respond to stimuli
“Open” versus a “closed” system
Examples
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Orientation of leaves to sun
Eyes
Microbes and single cell organisms
(e.g., amoeba)
Characteristics of all Living
Organisms
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Hierarchy theory and emergent properties
Infrastructure: “it is the cell”
Continuity of life: function of “information”
Openness of biological systems
Regulatory capacity of living systems
Capacity to reproduce
Capacity to acquire, utilize, and store energy
Diversity and similarity of living organisms
Regulatory Systems
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Interplay of organisms with the environment: requires a
balanced regulatory system
Outcome: homeostasis
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Set point, effectors, feedbacks, control centers and sensors
Analogy: thermostat for heat control
Examples
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Enzymes in cells
Thermostatic control of body temperature
Gene regulation: activation and deactivation
Heart rate and exercise (getting oxygen and removing wastes)
Regulatory Systems: Cybernetics
Positive
Feedback
Set Point
Control
Center/
Sensor
Effector
Negative
Feedback
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Feedbacks (+ and -), homeostasis and cybernetics
Universality of Reproduction
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Reproduction: regenerative process of
making new organisms (not necessarily
copies)
Methods
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Sexual
Asexual (microbes; cell division/mitosis)
Examples
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Siblings versus twins
Geranium plants
Dolly (the sheep)
Me and thee!
Characteristics of all Living
Organisms
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Hierarchy theory, emergent properties and the
infrastructure we call the cell
Continuity of life: function of “information”
Openness of biological systems
Regulatory capacity of living systems
Capacity to reproduce
Capacity to acquire, utilize, and store energy
Diversity and similarity of living organisms
Energy Utilization (Back to
Physics)
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Three activities: acquisition, utilization, and
storage
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Energy acquisition (C-C bonds)
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Energy utilization
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Energy capture (autotrophs; heterotrophs)
First law of Thermodynamics
Wheat Plants
Laws of Thermodynamics (1st and 2nd laws) ..
Releasing energy from C-C bonds)
ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and ADP
(adenosine diphosphate)
Energy storage
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Chemical bonds (C-C covalent bonds)
Carbohydrates, glycogen and lipids (C-C-C-C-C)
Muscle Tissue
Energy Utilization In Metabolism
Biosynthesis = constructing complex carbon molecules
Catabolism = deconstructing complex carbon molecules
ADP
Biosynthesis
Catabolism
ATP
Analogue: Legos on the floor and building a structure
Characteristics of all Living
Organisms
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Hierarchy theory and emergent properties
Infrastructure: “it is the cell”
Continuity of life: function of “information”
Openness of biological systems
Regulatory capacity of living systems
Capacity to reproduce
Capacity to acquire, utilize, and store energy
Diversity and similarity of living organisms
Two Sides of a Coin:
Diversity and Similarity
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Diversity: a hallmark of living systems
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1.8 M known species of plants, animals
and microbes
10 M+ thought to exist (perhaps even as
high as 50 M)
Similarity: a hallmark of living systems
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Striking similarity at the molecular level
(DNA): kinship to worms, squirrels,
birds and pigs (your DNA is ~90% pig!)
Examples
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Biochemistry
Structure and morphology
Me and Thee
Similarity of Life: Identical DNA
100%
95%
82%
20%
Pig = 90%
70%
55%
14%
Question
Living organisms tend to maintain a fixed set of
internal environmental conditions controlled by a
series of positive and negative feedbacks. The fixed
or stable state is called ___.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
heterosis
temperature
ph
cybernetics
homeostasis
Question
All organisms (plants, animals and microbes) do
which of the following with respect to energy?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
acquire it
store it
utilized it
all of the above
none of the above
Question
A unique feature of all living organisms is their ability
to pass information between generations in an
alphabetic form of whose “letters” are only _ in
number and are collectively called DNA.
A.
B.
C.
D.
1
2
3
4
Question
In the diagram below, the arrow points to the ___ of
the DNA that are individually abbreviated as ATCG.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Sugars
Nucleotides
RNA
viruses
Watson/Crick molecules
Strategies of Living Systems:
Features Common to all Life Forms
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Introduction to life
Themes/characteristics of living
organisms
Classification of life’s different
species (1.8 million and counting
fast!)
Case study: bacteria and virus
Classifying Living Systems
Hi! How are you today?
Classifying Life
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Kingdoms
Monera
 Protista
 Fungi
 Plants
 Animals
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How is this
done?
Cataloging Life
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Linnaen classification
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Hierarchy
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Shared characteristics
Kingdom
(previous slide)
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Binomial nomenclature
Homo sapiens vs. Homo neanderthalensis
Example: Classifying
Humankind
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Kingdom: Animals
Phylum: Chordates
Class: Mammals
Order: Primates
Family: Hominid
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Who else in in your “Family”?
Genus: Homo
Species: sapiens
Ardipithecus
ramidus
and
Homo
neanderthalensis
Classifying Life
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Kingdoms
Monera
 Protista
 Fungi
 Plants
 Animals
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Bacteria
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Flagella
Information (DNA)
Capsule
Plasma Membrane
Cytoplasm
Cell Wall
Spores (reproduce)
Vascular Plants
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Phylum: vascular plants
Structure - strategy?
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Roots, stems and leaves
Control water loss
Intercept light
Autotrophs
Reproduction - strategy?
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Gymnosperms (e.g.,
conifers)
Angiosperms (e.g.,
flowering plants)
Diversity of Animal Kind
Vertebrates
Invertebrates
Gravity
strategy)
Roledictated
of Gravity
as a Strategy?
Question
Your DNA is ___ % identical to that of a pig.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
10
40
70
90
99
Question
Homo sapiens (me and thee), Homo neanderthalensis and
Homo erectus belong to the same ___.
A.
B.
C.
D.
population
community
species
genus
Question
The known diversity of all species on Earth (plants,
animals and microbes) is 1.8 million species, but more
that ____ million species are thought to exist.
A.
B.
C.
D.
2
5
10
100
Case Study: Bacteria
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Flagella
Information
Capsule
Plasma Membrane
Cytoplasm
Cell Wall
Spores
Some Examples of Bacteria
Clostridium (botulism)
Salmonella
(salmonella food poisoning)
Habitats of Bacteria
Strategy for Survival?
Case Study: Virus
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Strange form of life
Nucleic acids in head/capsule
Lack metabolism for energy
acquisition, storage and utilization
Lack membranes
Parasitic (means what?)
Visible only with electron microscopy
Role in disease … huge part of
human history and misery
Some Examples of Viruses
Influenza
Herpes
Ebola Hemorrhagic
Fever (virus)
Strategies of Living Systems
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Introduction to life
Themes/characteristics of living
organisms
Classification of life’s different
species
Case study: bacteria and virus
All organism share common
strategies for survival, but each
“solves” the problem with
variation on a common theme
Life is Tough!


Species share many features in common to
help survive and reproduce successfully
This is the story of those shared strategies!