Genetics: A Conceptual Approach

Benjamin Pierce

Chapter 1

Introduction to Genetics - all with Video Answers

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Chapter Questions

Problem 1

Answers to questions and problems preceded by an asterisk can be found at the end of the book.
How did Hopi culture contribute to the high incidence of albinism among members of the Hopi tribe?

Raechel Tittor

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 2

Answers to questions and problems preceded by an asterisk can be found at the end of the book.
Outline some of the ways in which genetics is important to all of us.

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 3

Answers to questions and problems preceded by an asterisk can be found at the end of the book.
Give at least three examples of the role of genetics in society today.

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 4

Answers to questions and problems preceded by an asterisk can be found at the end of the book.
Briefly explain why genetics is crucial to modern biology.

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 5

Answers to questions and problems preceded by an asterisk can be found at the end of the book.
List the three traditional subdisciplines of genetics and summarize what each covers.

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 6

Answers to questions and problems preceded by an asterisk can be found at the end of the book.
What are some characteristics of model genetic organisms that make them useful for genetic studies?

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 7

When and where did agriculture first arise? What role did genetics play in the development of the first domest icated plants and animals?

Patina Herring

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Problem 8

Outline the not ion of pangenesis and explain how it differs from the germ-plasm theory.

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 9

What does the concept of the inheritance of acquired characterist ics propose and how is it related to the notion of pangenesis?

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 10

What is preformation ism? What did it have to say about how traits are inherited?

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 11

Define blending inheritance and contrast it with preformationism.

Dennis Howard

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Problem 12

How did developments in botany in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries contribute to the rise of modern genetics?

Dennis Howard

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Problem 13

List some advances in genetics made in the twentieth century.

Dennis Howard

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Problem 14

Briefly explain the contribution that each of the following persons made to the study of genetics.
a. Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann
b. August Weismann
c. Gregor Mendel
d. James Watson and Francis Crick
e. Kary Mullis

Maxime Rossetti

Maxime Rossetti

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Problem 15

What are the two basic cell types (from a structural perspective) and how do they differ?

Dennis Howard

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Problem 16

Outline the relations between genes, DNA, and chromosomes.

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 17

What is the relation between genetics and evolution?

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 18

For each of the following genetic topics, indicate whether it focuses on transmission genetics, molecular genetics, or population genetics.
a. Analysis of pedigrees to determine the probability of someone inheriting a trait
b. Study of people on a small island to determine why a genetic form of asthma is prevalent on the island
c. Effect of nonrandom mating on the distribution of genotypes among a group of animals
d. Examination of the nucleotide sequences found at the ends of chromosomes
e. Mechanisms that ensure a high degree of accuracy in DNA replication
f. Study of how the inheritance of traits encoded by genes on sex chromosomes (sex-linked traits) differs from the inheritance of traits encoded by genes on nonsex chromosomes (autosomal traits)

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 19

Describe some of the ways in which your own genetic makeup affects you as a person. Be as specific as you can.

Dennis Howard

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Problem 20

Describe at least one trait that appears to run in your family (appears in multiple members of the family). Does this trait run in your family because it is an inherited trait or because it is caused by environmental factors that are common to family members? How might you distinguish between these possibilities?

Dennis Howard

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Problem 21

Genetics is said to be both a very old science and a very young science, Explain what is meant by this statement.

Kaela Piechowicz

Kaela Piechowicz

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Problem 22

Match the description $(a \text { through } d$ ) with the correct theory or concept listed below.
Preformationism
Pangenesis
Germ-plasm theory
Inheritance of acquired characteristics
a. Each reproductive cell contains a complete set of genetic information.
b. All traits are inherited from one parent.
c. Genetic information may be altered by the use of a characteristic.
d. Cells of different tissues contain different genetic information.

Raechel Tittor

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Problem 23

Compare and contrast the following ideas about inheritance.
a. Pangenesis and germ-plasm theory
b. Preformationism and blending inheritance
c. The inheritance of acquired characteristics and our modern theory of heredity

Bryan Lynn

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Problem 24

Compare and contrast the following terms:
a. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells
b. Gene and allele
c. Genotype and phenotype
d. DNA and RNA
e. DNA and chromosome

Dennis Howard

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Problem 25

The type of albinism that arises with high frequency among Hopi Native Americans (discussed in the introduction to this chapter) is most likely oculocutan eous albinism type II, due to a defect in the OCA2 gene on chromosome $15 .$ Do some research on the Internet to determine how the phenotype of this type of albinism differs from phenotypes of other forms of albinism in humans and the mutated genes that result in these phenotypes. Hint: Visit the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man Web site (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/omim/) and search the database for albinism.

Matthew Halloran

Matthew Halloran

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Problem 26

We now know a great deal about the genetics of humans, and humans are the focus of many genetic studies. What are some of the reasons humans have been the focus of intensive genetic study?

Dennis Howard

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Problem 27

Suppose that life exists elsewhere in the universe. All life must contain some type of genet ic information, but alien genomes might not consist of nucleic acids and have the same features as those found in the genomes of life on Earth. What might be the common features of all genomes, no matter where they exist?

Matthew Halloran

Matthew Halloran

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Problem 28

Choose one of the ethical or social issues in parts $a$ through $e$ and give your opinion on the issue. For backg round in formation, you might read one of the articles on ethics marked with an asterisk in the Suggested Readings section for Chapter 1 at http://courses.bfwpub.com/pierce5e.
a. Should a person's genetic makeup be used in determining his or her eligibility for life insurance?
b. Should biotechnology companies be able to patent newly sequenced genes?
c. Should gene therapy be used on people?
d. Should genet ic testing be made available for inherited disorders for which there is no treatment
or cure?

Matthew Halloran

Matthew Halloran

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Problem 29

A 45 -year old woman undergoes genetic testing and discovers that she is at high risk for developing colon cancer and Alzheimer disease. Because her child ren have $50 \%$ of her genes, they also may be at an increased risk for these diseases. Does she have a moral or legal obligation to tell her children and other dose relatives about the results of her genetic testing?

Allison Reynolds

Allison Reynolds

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Problem 30

Suppose that you could undergo genetic testing at age 18 for susceptibility to a genetic disease that would not appear until middle age and has no available treatment.
a. What would be some of the possible reasons for having such a genetic test and some of the possible reasons for not having the test?
b. Would you personally want to be tested? Explain your reasoning.

Dennis Howard

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