WYSE – Coordinator of Test Production

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

WYSE – Coordinator of Test Production 2006 Academic Challenge BIOLOGY TEST - SECTIONAL – This Test Consists of 50 Questions – Biology Test Production Team Donna Ford, John A. Logan College – Author/Team Coordinator Julie Ellis, Kaskaskia College – Author Keith Krapf, John A. Logan College – Reviewer Don Wayman, WYSE – Coordinator of Test Production GENERAL DIRECTIONS Please read the following instructions carefully. This is a timed test; any instructions from the test supervisor should be followed promptly. The test supervisor will give instructions for filling in any necessary information on the answer sheet. Most Academic Challenge sites will ask you to indicate your answer to each question by marking an oval that corresponds to the correct answer for that question. Only one oval should be marked to answer each question. Multiple ovals will automatically be graded as an incorrect answer. Be sure ovals are marked as . Not as , , , etc. If you wish to change an answer, erase your first mark completely before marking your new choice. You are advised to use your time effectively and to work as rapidly as you can without losing accuracy. Do not waste your time on questions that are too difficult for you. Go on to the other questions and come back to the difficult ones later if you can. *** TIME: 40 MINUTES *** DO NOT OPEN TEST BOOKLET UNTIL YOU ARE TOLD TO DO SO! © 2006 Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering “WYSE”, “Worldwide Youth in Science and Engineering” and the “WYSE Design” are service marks of and this work is Copyright © 2006 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign. All rights reserved. WYSE – Academic Challenge Biology Test (Sectional) – 2006 1. What are molecules with the same number of each atom and different structural arrangements? a) isotopes b) isomers c) hydrocarbons d) polymers e) monomers 2. The splitting of ____ in photosynthesis is a major source of O2 in the atmosphere. a) acetyl CoA b) ATP c) NADPH d) C6H12O6 e) H2O 3. Skin color is a polygenic inherited trait. If dark skin tone is dominant over light skin tone, which of the genotypes would represent the darkest skin tone? a) AABbCCDD b) AaBBCcDd c) AABBccdd d) aaBbCcDd e) AaBbCcDd 4. Which of the following is a virus that uses bacterial cells in order to replicate? a) Bacteriophage b) AIDS c) E. coli d) Staphylococcus aureus e) none of the above 5. Which is not part of a cell’s true nucleus? a) nucleoid b) nucleolus c) nuclear pore d) nucleoplasm e) chromatin 6. Which of the following is not a product of cellular respiration? a) ATP b) NADH c) FADH2 d) NADPH e) H2O 7. What are small circular extra pieces of DNA which are sometimes found in bacterial cells and used as a vector in biotechnology procedures called? a) plasmids b) stem cells c) ligases d) probes e) ribosomes 8. A carbon atom has 6 protons, and a radioactive isotope of carbon has 8 neutrons. For this radioactive form of carbon, its atomic number is ____ and its atomic mass is ____. a) 8; 14 b) 6; 14 c) 14; 8 d) 2; 8 e) 6; 12 2006 Sectional Biology – 2 9. Which is/are true of gel electrophoresis? a) a current is conducted along the gel due to a buffer containing a salt solution b) molecules separate according to size and charge, and the larger molecules do not travel on the gel as far as smaller ones c) electropositive substances will migrate along the gel toward the anode d) both b and c e) all of the above 10. Jack has blue eyes and marries Jill who has brown eyes. Brown eyes are dominant to blue eyes. If Jill’s father has blue eyes, what can this couple expect in their children? a) They have a 75% chance of having children with blue eyes and a 25% chance of having children with brown eyes. b) They have a 25% chance of having children with blue eyes and a 75% chance of having children with brown eyes. c) There is a 100% chance that they will have children with brown eyes and a 0% chance of having children with blue eyes. d) They have no chance of having children with brown eyes since Jack is homozygous recessive. e) They have a 50% chance of having children with blue eyes and a 50% chance of having a child with brown eyes. 11. An organ used by mollusks to scrape its food off surfaces in the environment is called the ____. a) radula b) foot c) cuticle d) coelom e) none of the above 12. Which of the following cell types contain a cell wall composed primarily of peptidoglycan? a) plant b) animal c) bacteria d) fungi e) none of the above 13. Which is not a nitrogenous base of RNA? a) guanine b) adenine c) thymine d) cytosine e) uracil 14. A typical dicot would have all of the following parts except a/an _____. a) pith b) vascular bundle c) cuticle d) spongy mesophyll e) epidermis 15. Primary succession would occur after ____. a) a forest fire b) a tornado c) an agricultural field is abandoned d) volcanic eruption e) all of the above 2006 Sectional Biology – 3 16. Match the examples of fruit in Column A with the fruit type in Column B. Column A Column B 1. Acorn i. Grain 2. Tomato ii. Nut 3. Apple iii. Berry 4. Wheat iv. Accessory fruit 5. Peach v. Drupe Select the most appropriate matching sequence: a) 1 – ii; 2 – iv; 3 – iii; 4 – i; 5 – v b) 1 – i; 2 – ii; 3 – iv; 4 – v; 5 – iii c) 1 – iii; 2 – i; 3 – ii; 4 – v; 5 – iv d) 1 – ii; 2 – iii; 3 – iv; 4 – i; 5 – v e) 1 – v; 2 – iv; 3 – iii; 4 – ii; 5 – i 17. Organic compounds contain at least one ____ atom. a) sulfur b) potassium c) carbon d) magnesium e) chlorine 18. Which is the longest stage of the cell cycle of a normal cell? a) prophase b) interphase c) metaphase d) anaphase e) telophase 19. The gametophyte generation is dominant in ____. a) ferns b) gymnosperms c) mosses d) angiosperms e) all of the above 20. The relationship between an epiphyte and a tree is an example of ____. a) mutualism b) parasitism c) parasitiodism d) ammensalism e) commensalism 21. Which of the following are composed of prokaryotic cells? a) rabies virus b) mildew c) leeches d) mosses e) nitrogen – fixing bacteria 2006 Sectional Biology – 4 22. In pea plants tall (T) is dominant to dwarf (t), round (R) is dominant to smooth (r), and yellow (Y) is dominant to green (y). Which of the following is a normal gamete for a heterozygous tall, heterozygous round and green pea plant? a) TtRryy b) TtRrYy c) try d) trY e) TRY 23. Which base or bases are purines of DNA? a) adenine b) guanine c) cytosine d) both a and b e) both b and c 24. The plasma membrane of a cell may change shape in order to engulf molecules. If the engulfed particles are large it is called ____, where as, if the cell is engulfing very small particles or liquid substances it is called ____. a) phagocytosis; pinocytosis b) pinocytosis; phagocytosis c) exocytosis; phagocytosis d) phagocytosis; exocytosis e) pinocytosis; exocytosis 25. In cattle, a white cow and a red bull produce a calf that has both reddish hair and white hair. This can best be explained by ____. a) codominant alleles b) incomplete dominant alleles c) complete dominant alleles d) epistasis e) X-linked traits 26. Which of the following characteristics is not usually associated with monocot plants? a) Xylem and phloem is present. b) Vascular bundles are in rings. c) Veins of the leaf are in a parallel pattern. d) Flora parts are in threes or multiple of threes. e) A fibrous root system is present. 27. Which of the following is/are products of the noncyclic light dependent pathway of photosynthesis? a) NADH b) NADPH c) FADH2 d) ATP e) both b and d 28. Which of the following monomers is not matched to their polymer? a) Nucleotide – DNA b) Glucose – Starch c) Amino acid – Hemoglobin or protein d) Fatty acid – Steroid e) Glucose – Glycogen 2006 Sectional Biology – 5 29. Which is/are secreted by the pancreas? a) insulin b) glycogen c) glucagon d) both a and b e) both a and c 30. Downs syndrome is usually caused by ____. a) a dominant trait b) a recessive trait c) an X- linked trait d) ocogenes e) nondisjunction 31. Match the following genetic crosses in Column A with their expected phenotypes in Column B. Column A Column B 1. TtRr x TtRr i. 3 : 1 2. ttrr x TtRr ii. 1 : 1 3. Rr x Rr iii. 9 : 3 : 3 : 1 4. Rr x rr iv. 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 Select the most appropriate matching sequencing: a) 1 – iii; 2 – ii; 3 – i; 4 – iv b) 1 – iii; 2 – iv; 3 – i; 4 – ii c) 1 – iv; 2 – i; 3 – ii; 4 – iii d) 1 – ii; 2 – iii; 3 – iv; 4 – i e) 1 – iii; 2 – ii; 3 – i; 4 – iv 32. The following figure represents a phospholipid. The part labeled A is _____, while the part labeled B is _____. ← A ← B a) hydrophilic; hydrophobic b) the tail; the head c) the head; the tail d) Both a and b are correct. e) Both a and c are correct. 2006 Sectional Biology – 6 33. Which researcher cloned the first adult mammal, named Dolly, in 1997? a) Ian Wilmut b) Francis Collins c) Alfred Wallace d) Gregor Mendel e) James Watson 34.
Recommended publications
  • James A. Mccloskey, Jr
    CHEMICAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION JAMES A. MCCLOSKEY, JR. Transcript of Interviews Conducted by Michael A. Grayson at the McCloskeys’ Home Helotes, Texas on 19 and 20 March 2012 (With Subsequent Corrections and Additions) James A. McCloskey, Jr. ACKNOWLEDGMENT This oral history is one in a series initiated by the Chemical Heritage Foundation on behalf of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. The series documents the personal perspectives of individuals related to the advancement of mass spectrometric instrumentation, and records the human dimensions of the growth of mass spectrometry in academic, industrial, and governmental laboratories during the twentieth century. This project is made possible through the generous support of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. This oral history is designated Free Access. Please note: Users citing this interview for purposes of publication are obliged under the terms of the Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) Center for Oral History to credit CHF using the format below: James A. McCloskey, Jr., interview by Michael A. Grayson at the McCloskeys’ home, Helotes, Texas, 19-20 March 2012 (Philadelphia: Chemical Heritage Foundation, Oral History Transcript # 0702). Chemical Heritage Foundation Center for Oral History 315 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106 The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; encourages research in CHF collections; and carries out a program of outreach and interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping society.
    [Show full text]
  • The Great-Grandmother of LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor)
    Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 4 June 2018 doi:10.20944/preprints201806.0035.v1 Be introduced to the First Universal Common Ancestor (FUCA): the great-grandmother of LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor) Francisco Prosdocimi1*, Marco V José2 and Sávio Torres de Farias3* 1 Laboratório de Biologia Teórica e de Sistemas, Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. 2 Theoretical Biology Group, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 CDMX, Mexico. 3 Laboratório de Genética Evolutiva Paulo Leminsk, Departamento de Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Paraíba, Brasil. * Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract The existence of a common ancestor to all living organisms in Earth is a necessary corollary of Darwin idea of common ancestry. The Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) has been normally considered as the ancestor of cellular organisms that originated the three domains of life: Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. Recent studies about the nature of LUCA indicate that this first organism should present hundreds of genes and a complex metabolism. Trying to bring another of Darwin ideas into the origins of life discussion, we went back into the prebiotic chemistry trying to understand how LUCA could be originated 1 © 2018 by the author(s). Distributed under a Creative Commons CC BY license. Preprints (www.preprints.org) | NOT PEER-REVIEWED | Posted: 4 June 2018 doi:10.20944/preprints201806.0035.v1 under gradualist assumptions. Along this line of reasoning, it became clear to us that the definition of another ancestral should be of particular relevance to the understanding about the emergence of biological systems.
    [Show full text]
  • Beyond the Big Bang • the Amazon's Lost Civilizations • the Truth
    SFI Bulletin winter 2006, vol. 21 #1 Beyond the Big Bang • The Amazon’s Lost Civilizations • The Truth Behind Lying The Bulletin of the Santa Fe Institute is published by SFI to keep its friends and supporters informed about its work. The Santa Fe Institute is a private, independent, multidiscipli- nary research and education center founded in 1984. Since its founding, SFI has devoted itself to creating a new kind of sci- entific research community, pursuing emerging synthesis in science. Operating as a visiting institution, SFI seeks to cat- alyze new collaborative, multidisciplinary research; to break down the barriers between the traditional disciplines; to spread its ideas and methodologies to other institutions; and to encourage the practical application of its results. Published by the Santa Fe Institute 1399 Hyde Park Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, USA phone (505) 984-8800 fax (505) 982-0565 home page: http://www.santafe.edu Note: The SFI Bulletin may be read at the website: www.santafe.edu/sfi/publications/Bulletin/. If you would prefer to read the Bulletin on your computer rather than receive a printed version, contact Patrisia Brunello at 505/984-8800, Ext. 2700 or [email protected]. EDITORIAL STAFF: Ginger Richardson Lesley S. King Andi Sutherland CONTRIBUTORS: Brooke Harrington Janet Yagoda Shagam Julian Smith Janet Stites James Trefil DESIGN & PRODUCTION: Paula Eastwood PHOTO: ROBERT BUELTEMAN ©2004 BUELTEMAN PHOTO: ROBERT SFI Bulletin Winter 2006 TOCtable of contents 3 A Deceptively Simple Formula 2 How Life Began 3 From
    [Show full text]
  • Signature of Controversy
    I n “In this volume Granville Sewell provides “As the debate over intelligent design grows T delightful and wide-ranging commentary on increasingly heated... it is refreshing to find a HE the origins debate and intelligent design... discussion of the topic that is calm, thoughtful, Sewell provides much needed clarity on topics and far-ranging, with no sense of having to B e ignature f that are too often misunderstood. His discussion advance an agenda or decimate the opposition. G I S o of the commonly confused problem of entropy In this regard, Granville Sewell’s In the NNI is a must read.” Beginning succeeds brilliantly.” Cornelius G. Hunter, Ph.D. William A. Dembski, Ph.D. N author of The Design Inference author of Science’s Blind Spot G ontroversy A N c In this wide-ranging collection of essays on origins, mathematician Granville Sewell looks at the D big bang, the fine-tuning of the laws of physics, and the evolution of life. He concludes that while O there is much in the history of life that seems to suggest natural causes, there is nothing to support THER Responses to critics of signature in the cEll Charles Darwin’s idea that natural selection of random variations can explain major evolutionary E S advances (“easily the dumbest idea ever taken seriously by science,” he calls it). Sewell explains S A Y why evolution is a fundamentally different and much more difficult problem than others solved s ON by science, and why increasing numbers of scientists are now recognizing what has long been I obvious to the layman, that there is no explanation possible without design.
    [Show full text]
  • History of the Department of Microbiology 1868 – 2009
    June 2015 HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY 1868 – 2009 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1 A HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIOLOGY 1868 – 2009 This 141 year history of the Department of Microbiology includes an article (Chapter 1), written and published in 1959 by the Department, which covers the period 1868 to 1959. I joined the Department in 1953, and my recounting of the Department’s history includes personal observations as well as anecdotes told to me by H. O. Halvorson and others. Later I realized what a unique experience it had been to join a first-class department, and I resolved to play a role in maintaining its research stature. Ralph Wolfe 2 Department of Microbiology History of the Headship: 1950 – 1959 Halvor Halvorson 1960 – 1963 Kim Atwood 1963 – 1972 Leon Campbell 1972 – 1982 Ralph DeMoss 1982 – 1987 Samuel Kaplan 1987 – 1990 Jordan Konisky 1990 – 1991 Ralph Wolfe (Acting Head) 1991 – 1997 Charles Miller 1997 – 2002 John Cronan 2003 – 2004 Jeffrey Gardner (Acting Head) 2005 – Present John Cronan 3 Organization of the History of the Department In Chapters 2 to 6 the data are divided into Academic Decades, each containing the following sections: Section I, an overview of the decade; Section II, some events for each year of the decade; Section III, a summary of the research interests, honors received, publications, and invited off-campus lectures or seminars for each faculty member. These data have been obtained from the annual reports of the faculty submitted to the departmental secretary. 4 CHAPTER 1 1868 – 1959 During this time period the name of the Department was Department of Bacteriology (Anecdotes by Ralph Wolfe) A SHORT HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF BACTERIOLOGY H.
    [Show full text]
  • The Archaeal Concept and the World It Lives In: a Retrospective
    Carl R. Woese (center) with His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and Queen Silvia on the occassion of his receiving the 2003 Crafoord Prize, given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Photo credit: Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Photosynthesis Research 80: 361–372, 2004. 363 © 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. Personal perspective The archaeal concept and the world it lives in: a retrospective Carl R. Woese Department of Microbiology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B103 Chemical and Life Sciences Laboratory, 601 South Goodwin Ave, Urbana, IL 61801-3709, USA (e-mail: [email protected]; fax: +1-217-244-6697) Received 9 July 2003; accepted in revised form 30 August 2003 Key words: archaea, evolution, genomics, molecular phylogeny, phylogenetic reconstruction, ribosomal RNA Abstract The present retrospective concerns the discovery and development of the archaea, the so-called ‘third form of life’ that no one anticipated and many did not, and still do not want. In its birth pangs, which the archaea had a plenty, the concept encountered biology unmasked; for it ran up against some of the key struts in the 20th century biological edifice. Consequently, the history of the development of the archaeal concept provides an excellent window on certain of the weaknesses in the 20th century biology paradigm, weaknesses that have now led that paradigm to a conceptual dead end. On the other hand, the archaeal concept has also provided us one of the pillars on which a new holistic paradigm for biology can be built. So, it would seem of value to retrace some of the twists and turns in the history of the development of the archaeal concept.
    [Show full text]
  • F: Acknowledgements
    Appendix F Acknowledgements OTA wishes to acknowledge the many people con- James E. Bowman tributed to the preparation of this report. Members of University of Chicago the advisory panel and contractors are listed at the Elbert Branscomb front of the report. Workshop participants are listed Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in appendix C. Others helped by commenting on drafts Douglas Brutlag of the report, providing information or advice, or con- Stanford University senting to interviews with OTA staff. OTA particularly thanks those at the National Institutes of Health, the Martin Buechi Department of Energy, the National Science Founda- Embassy of Switzerland tion, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and other John Burris organizations for their invaluable efforts to inform National Academy of Sciences OTA about their activities. Our gratitude is extended to: Andrew Bush Carlos Abella U.S. Senate Embassy of Spain Mark Cantley Bruce M. Alberts Commission of the European Economic Community University of California al San Francisco Charles R. Cantor Duane Alexander College of Physicians and Surgeons of National Institute of Child Health and Human Columbia University Development C. Thomas Caskey Norman Anderson Baylor College of Medicine Large Scale Biology James Cassatt Wyatt Anderson National Institute of General Medical Sciences University of Georgia James W. Chamberlain David G. Baldwin U.S. Embassy, Brazil Tetrarch Inc. Andrew T. L. Chen David Baltimore Centers for Disease Control Whitehead Institute James F. Childress Phil Beachy University of Virginia Carnegie Institution of Washington George M. Church George I. Bell Harvard University Medical School Los Alamos National Laboratory Mary Clutter Celeste Berg National Science Foundation Carnegie Institution of Washington Stanley Cohen Fred Bergmann Stanford Medical School National Institute of General Medical Sciences Francis Collins Michel Bernon University of Michigan Embassy of France P.
    [Show full text]
  • Concepts and Methods
    CONCEPTS AND PART METHODS I THE CONCEPT CHAPTER OF MICROBIAL SPECIES 1 INTRODUCTION Chapter contents What distinguishes microbiology from other disciplines of biology? This question no longer has a straightforward answer that can satisfy all biologists. The traditional answer focused Old and new challenges for assessing on the extremely small size of organisms under investigation; however, this leaves little room microbial diversity for distinction on the basis of taxonomy because practically all organisms have a microscopic Traditional concepts of species stage during their life cycles. Some organisms that are physiologically closely related to large Typological species concept macroscopic organisms spend their entire life span as microscopic organisms. Nevertheless, Morphological species concept physical size remains a dominant conceptual framework for most practicing microbiologists, Biological species concept and most of the discussion in this book is presented from this perspective. Other responses Evolutionary species concept have focused on unicellularity (as opposed to multicellularity) as the defining characteristic Other concepts of microorganisms, however, viruses are acellular, and many investigators have argued that the so-called unicellular stage of bacteria, for example, is not a naturally occurring phe- Species concepts for prokaryotes nomenon. Some investigators have advanced the cellularity argument by invoking differen- tiation as the separating principle, but many “unicellular” organisms also go through Theoretical mechanisms
    [Show full text]
  • Origin of Information Encoding in Nucleic Acids Through a Dissipation-Replication Relation Arxiv:1804.05939V1 [Physics.Bio-Ph]
    Origin of Information Encoding in Nucleic Acids through a Dissipation-Replication Relation Juli´anMej´ıa1 and Karo Michaelian2 April 18, 2018 [1] Postgrado in Physical Sciences, Instituto de F´ısica,Universidad Nacional Aut´onomade M´exico,Apartado Postal 20-364, M´exicoD. F. 01000, M´exico. [2] Department of Nuclear Physics and Application of Radiation, Instituto de F´ısica,Universidad Nacional Aut´onomade M´exico,Apartado Postal 20-364, M´exicoD. F. 01000, M´exico. karo@fisica.unam.mx; [email protected] Abstract Ultraviolet light incident on organic material can initiate its spontaneous dissipative structuring into chro- mophores which can then catalyze their own replication. This may have been the case for one of the most ancient of all chromophores dissipating the Archean UVC photon flux, the nucleic acids. Under the empirically established imperative of increasing entropy production, nucleic acids with affinity to particular amino acids which foment UVC photon dissipation would have been \thermodynamically selected" through this dissipation- replication relation. Indeed, we show here that those amino acids with characteristics most relevant to fo- menting UVC photon dissipation are precisely those with greatest affinity to their codons or anticodons. This could provide a physical-chemical mechanism for the accumulation of information in nucleic acids relevant to the dissipation of the externally imposed photon potential. This mechanism could provide a non-equilibrium thermodynamic foundation, based on increasing global entropy production of the biosphere, for the tenants of Darwinian natural selection. We show how this mechanism might have begun operating at the origin of life in the Archean, and how, in fact, it still operates today, albeit indirectly through complex biosynthetic pathways now operating in the visible.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tangled Tree: a Radical New History of Life by David Quammen, ISBN: 978-1476776620
    The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life by David Quammen, ISBN: 978-1476776620 David Quammen’s The Tangled Tree is an absolute delight. In many ways, it feels like a biography of Carl Woese, the microbiologist who defined the domain of Archaea in 1977. Despite over 40 years having passed since then, Woese’s definition challenged our fundamental understanding of evolutionary biology. However, The Tangled Tree is more than just a biography—calling it that does an insult to the work and the writer—it’s more like a biographical history of evolutionary biology. Quammen declares in his introduction “this book is about a new method of telling that story [of life], a new method of deducing it, and certain unexpected insights that have flowed from the new method. The method has a name: molecular phylogenetics.” The line that follows illustrates the engaging tone Quammen takes throughout the book (and the wordiness): “Wrinkle your nose at that fancy phrase, if you will, and I’ll wrinkle with you, but, in fact, what it means is fairly simple: reading the deep history of life and the patterns of relatedness from the sequence of constituent units in certain long molecules, as those molecules exist today within living creatures.” In other words, “molecular phylogenetics” means using patterns in DNA, RNA, and certain proteins to determine how life evolved on Earth. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Human Genome project largely concluded in 2003, and researchers have been charting the genome of various species for quite some time now. Scientists have long known that the key to evolution lies in DNA—perhaps not only ours, but that of other organisms, namely single-celled nucleus-less ones, i.e.
    [Show full text]
  • Revisiting Evolution in the 21St Century
    Revisiting Evolution in the 21st Century James A. Shapiro Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology University of Chicago OCTOBER 3, 2010 Disentangling basic issues in evolutionary debates 1. Origin of life & the first cells - still on the fringes of serious scientific discussion 2. Descent with modification of related living organisms - more convincing with each new technological advance (e.g. detailed protein and genome phylogenies) - but more complicated than simple vertical inheritance 3. The actual processes of evolutionary change over time - an ever growing number of distinct documented cellular and molecular events different from conventional predictions - novel molecular possibilities of genome reorganization as we learn more about how cells interact and control genome structure Outstanding Questions Still at Issue in 21st Century Evolutionary Theory • Where does novelty come from in evolution? (Nothing for selection to do with no differences.) • Descent with modification: tree/web of life? how many cell types in the beginning? role of virosphere? • Nature of heredity and hereditary change: vertical/ horizontal transmission, passive/active variations, micro/macromutations, isolated/interactive germ plasm, Central Dogma still valid? • Role of selection: positive/neutral/purifying? • Relationship of evolutionary change to planetary, environmental & ecological events? Major Points 1. The focus in biology has changed from mechanics to informatics. Cells are sensitive and communicative information-processing entities. 2. Cell-generated hereditary innovation is the source of new features in evolution. 3. Genome change is a cell-regulated process, not a series of accidents. (Genome as RW, not ROM, memory system) 4. The DNA record tells us that major steps in genome evolution have involved rapid genome-wide changes.
    [Show full text]
  • What Is Microbial Ecology?
    Class Business: Reading materials on course website http://fire.biol.wwu.edu/cmoyer/cmoyer.BI405.html Field trips (e.g. H2S scrubber at VRI and water treatment plant) – arrive early and stay late What is microbial ecology? A microbial view of the world “…the science that explores the interrelationships between microorganisms and their living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) environments” -- R. Atlas and R. Bartha, 1998 Ecology was a term first coined by Ernst Haeckel in 1866. Oikos (household/dwelling) + logos (law) Î “law of the household” Microbial ecology was a term that came into use in the 1960’s. History of Microbiology Antonie van Leeuwenhoek observes “animacules” (1676) 1600’s Spallazani argues against spontaneous generation of microbes (1768) Needham argues for spontaneous 1700’s generation of microbes (1745) Schloesing and Muntz: Saussure: oxidation of H by soil, Koch: isolation of pure 2 Pasteur: microbial ammonium oxidation attributed to microbes (1839) fermentation (biodegradation (nitrification) in sewage cultures and Koch’s of organic substances) by passing through postulates (1883-1884) 1800’s (1857-1876) sand (1879) Carl Woese recognizes that Fleming notices inhibition of Archaea are distinct from Micrococcus by Penicillium factor (1929) Bacteria (1977) 1900’s The first complete nucleotide sequence of a bacterial genome is completed (1995) 1866 1 “Work with impure cultures yields nothing but nonsense and Penicillium glaucum” – Oscar Brefeld, 1881 An impure culture… horrors! Koch’s Postulates Isolation of single colonies
    [Show full text]