Download Insects and genetics

Insects and genetics
March 14, 2008, Pages 30-35
1. Match the name of the individual with the concept he conceived or popularized:
a. Francis Galton
1. Uniformitarianism-b
b. Charles Lyell
2. Theory of natural selection-d
c. Thomas Malthus
3. Law of filial regression-a
d. Charles Darwin
4. Populations outgrow food supply-c
e. Alfred Russell Wallace
5. Tendency of varieties to depart from original type-e
f. Walter Flemming
6. Mitosis-f
2. The process by which those individuals with heritable traits conferring survival produce more
offspring than do individuals lacking such traits is called natural selection_.
3. Describe 2 entomological phenomena Darwin used to illustrate the action of natural selection.
Crypsis in moths on trees, homotypism of homopterans, winglessness on islands, mimicry
of butterflies
4. Describe 2 entomological phenomena that Darwin had difficulty explaining in "Origin of
Species."
Neuter caste of social insects, fairy flies, firefly lantern
5. Mendel's law of segregation states that alternative forms of a particular factor (gene) remain
discrete during the reproductive process; his second law, the law of independent_ assortment,
states that different factors are inherited independently of one another.
6. Who was Thomas Hunt Morgan? Used fruit flies to study genetics
7. The "fruit fly" Drosophila melanogaster is more correctly known as the vinegar or pomace
fly.
8. Give 4 reasons why Drosophila melanogaster is an excellent organism for genetic studies.
l. small size
2. rapid life cycle
3. simple diet
4. 4 pairs of chromosomes
9. What's a sex-linked gene? Gene on the chromosome that determines sex
Give an example of a mutation involving a sex-linked gene in Drosophila melanogaster.
Eye color
10. Match the term with the definition
a. gene
1. change in a gene, either in DNA sequence or location-d
b. locus
2. physical appearance of an organism-f
c. allele
3. location of a gene on a chromosome-b
d. mutation
4. genetic make-up of an organism-e
e. genotype
5. alternative state of a gene or trait-c
f. phenotype
6. segment of DNA on a chromosome coding for a protein or RNA-a
g. chromosome
7. group of coiled DNA strands containing genes-g
9. genome
8. entire DNA complement of an organism-9
11. The two scientists who first described the structure of DNA as a double helix were
a. Beadle and Tatum
c. Watson and Crick
b. Hershey and Chase
d. Nirenbeg and Khorana
12. How many nucleotide bases make up DNA? 4
Which are purines? Adenine, guanine
Which are pyrimidines? Thymine, cytosine
13. What is the "central dogma" of biology?
DNA encodes for RNA which encodes for protein
14. What does "PCR" stand for? How does it work?
Polymerase chain reaction. It makes millions of copies of a particular region of DNA.
15. True or false: Transposable elements are very rare in Drosophila melanogaster.
16. Which of the following is an insect transposon?
a. hermes
b. mariner
c. woot
d. all of the above
17. What's a transcription factor?
Master switch gene/protein. It is not an enzyme.
18.What species was genetically engineered to be incapable of vectoring malaria in 2007?.
Anopheles stephensi
19. When was the Drosophila melanogaster genome sequenced? 2000
Who sequenced it? Celera-Craig Venter
How many genes does the genome contain? 13,500 genes
20. A transcriptome involves:
a. DNA
b. RNA
c. protein
d. All of the above
21. Name two UIUC faculty members who are involved in the honey bee genome project:
a. Gene Robinson
b. Hugh Robertson
22. What tool developed at UIUC is currently being used to investigate Colony Collapse
Disorder? Honey bee oligonucleotide microarray
23. Name two insects other than Drosophila melanogaster that have been sequenced:
a. honey bee- Apis mellifera
b. silkworm- Bombyx mori
24. On March 1, 2005, the National Human Genome Research Institute, which oversees
government-funded genome sequencing efforts, announced plans to sequence the genome of
Rhodnius prolixus.
a. What order does this insect belong to? Hemiptera
b. What organism does this insect vector? Trypanosoma cruzi
c. What disease is associated with this insect? Chagas disease
25. How can genetic engineering help to reduce the incidence of malaria?
Transgenic mosquitoes can be made that are resistant to malaria.
Aside from technical obstacles, what other obstacles might stand in the way of using genetic
engineering for malaria management?
Public support for releasing transgenic mosquitoes