Deck 18: Recombinant DNA Technology

Question 1

Which of the following sequences is considered an STR?

A) TACGTACGTACG
B) TATTACGCCG
C) CGTATTATGC
D) CCCCCGGGGG
E) A and B

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The human genome contains approximately ________ genes.

A) 10,000
B) 20,000
C) 40,000
D) 100,000
E) 80,000

Answer 2

B

Question 3

A key issue being considered by the bioethics program ELSI is

A) the fair use of genetic information.
B) maintaining the privacy of genetic information.
C) effective use of genetic information in a clinical setting.
D) professional and public education.
E) all of the above.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Which of the following statements about genomes is false?

A) Genes make up most of the DNA of prokaryotes.
B) The human genome contains several genes of bacterial origin.
C) Most of the human genome consists of coding DNA.
D) Eukaryotes generally have far lower gene density than prokaryotes.
E) Genomes show a general trend of increasing complexity with complexity of organism.

Question 5

In a sequenced genome, candidate protein-encoding genes are identified by searching for

A) ESTs.
B) ORFs.
C) SNPs.
D) STRs.
E) RFLPs.

Question 6

Announcement of the first draft sequence of the complete human genome was a monumental moment in the history of genetics. This announcement was made

A) April 2003.
B) February 1997.
C) February 2001.
D) April 1953.
E) August 2000.

Question 7

Which type of cloning vector is commonly used in the construction of contig maps?

A) Plasmids
B) BACs
C) Viruses
D) YACs
E) B and D

Question 8

Which of the following restriction enzymes is most useful as a tool in genome sequencing?

A) HindIII
B) BamHI
C) HpaII
D) EcoRI
E) NotI

Question 9

The first complete genome sequenced was that of

A) Mus musculus.
B) Methanococcus.
C) the human mitochondrion.
D) Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
E) Escherichia coli.

Question 10

RFLPs arise by

A) changes in the number of tandem repeats.
B) base changes that add or delete restriction enzyme recognition sites.
C) addition or deletion of bases between restriction enzyme recognition sites.
D) A, B, and C
E) B and C only

Question 11

Expressed sequence tags, or ESTs,

A) are genetic markers generated from cDNA.
B) oligonucleotides derived from mRNA.
C) pertain to expressed genes only.
D) A and C
E) A, B, and C

Question 12

The human genome consists mostly of noncoding DNA.

Question 13

Candidate open reading frames of a genome are identified by searching for

A) a start codon "in frame" with a stop codon.
B) a promoter.
C) a start codon.
D) introns and exons.
E) all of the above.

Question 14

The ________ method was used by the Celera Genomics corporation to sequence the human genome.

A) clone contig
B) radiation hybrid
C) pedigree analysis
D) FISH
E) direct shotgun

Question 15

In a clone-contig mapping experiment, four clones were obtained with the following STS markers: Clone 1: O P G E Clone 2: A C D M Clone 3: X O P Clone 4: D M N X O The order of the markers in this part of the genome is:

A) X O P A C G E D M N.
B) O P G E A C D M X P.
C) A C D M N X O P G E.
D) A C D M O P G E N X.
E) D M N X O A C D P G E.

Question 16

Genetic distances associated with genetic maps are generally obtained

A) by determining the number of chromosomes in the genome.
B) by assessing the location of chromosomes in the nucleus.
C) by an analysis of the frequency of recombination between genes.
D) by counting the number of base pairs between restriction sites.
E) by sequencing the genome.

Question 17

The subfield of genomics that deals with gene expression and interaction is

A) hypothetical genomics.
B) functional genomics.
C) expression genomics.
D) structural genomics.
E) comparative genomics.

Question 18

A genetic map shows

A) the relative distance between genes on chromosomes.
B) the location of genes on chromosomes.
C) the genetic component of key phenotypic traits.
D) A and B
E) A, B, and C

Question 19

A SNP represents a change in

A) a three-nucleotide sequence.
B) the number of restriction sites.
C) the number of nucleotides between restriction sites.
D) the number of tandem repeats.
E) none of the above.

Question 20

________ were the first class of genetic marker developed by geneticists.

A) microsatellites
B) RFLPs
C) SNPs
D) STRs
E) VNTRs

Question 21

Genome projects are usually justified by scientists to the public on the basis of providing knowledge of (and potential cures for) human disease. Do you think this argument is necessary? Do genome projects have to be justified in terms of curing human disease? Is the promise too ambitious?

Question 22

The first eukaryote to have its genome completely sequenced is a fungus.

Question 23

The "transcriptome" is the complete set of polypeptides produced by an organism.

Question 24

Describe the basic approach to shotgun genome sequencing.

Question 25

The distribution of coding genes is surprisingly even throughout the human genome.

Question 26

If bacterial sequences in the human genome represent horizontal transfer, the transfer may have occurred in early humans, or in the more distant past, in primate ancestors of humans. In the latter scenario, modern humans inherited such sequences from a common ancestor. Can you think of a way to test the hypothesis that bacterial sequences were vectored to humans vs. vectored to an ancestral primate?

Question 27

One of the great surprises of the human genome was the number of genes and other sequences of prokaryotic origin (about 220). Speculate on how these bacterial genes may have become integrated into the human genome.

Question 28

Contrast mapping and shotgun sequencing approaches; what are the strengths and weaknesses of each approach?

Question 29

Archaea are typically found in much the same habitats as eubacteria.

Question 30

Clone contigs are a set of contiguous, partially overlapping sequences that collectively cover a whole chromosome or chromosome region without gaps.

Question 31

To generate its draft of the human genome, Celera Genomics depended on the genetic map from the public sequencing consortium.

Question 32

The human genome contains several pseudogenes, nonfunctional gene remnants. How might these genes have become nonfunctional?

Question 33

"Knock-out" mutants involve eliminating gene activity, a useful strategy to see what effect the gene has in physiology, development, etc.

Question 34

Genome analysis has confirmed findings based on DNA sequences of single genes that prokaryotes are divided into two great lineages: the eubacteria and archaea. The latter may be more closely related to the Eukarya. Recount the lines of evidence these statements are based on.

Question 35

Humans have 2N = 46 chromosomes, so the human genome consists of the sequence data of 23 chromosomes.

Question 36

Sequencing the dog genome is a high priority. What insights do you think can be gained about the evolutionary process by analyzing the genome of dogs?

Question 37

Explain the basic differences in goal and approach of functional, structural, and comparative genomics.

Question 38

Discuss the relative roles of descriptive and hypothesis-driven science in genomics.

Question 39

List the steps involved in constructing a knock-out mutant in yeast.

Question 40

Why is the proteome, the number of proteins produced by cells, so much greater than the number of genes in eukaryotes?

Question 41

Describe a DNA microarray setup for assaying mutations associated with a hypothetical genetic disease.

Question 42

Highly variable (polymorphic) short tandem repeats are considered the best kind of markers for constructing sequence tagged site (STS) maps. Why?

Question 43

Sequencing involves PCR reactions using Taq polymerase, which we learned in the previous chapter can introduce errors because it lacks a mismatch repair mechanism. What precaution can be taken in genomic sequencing projects, or other sequencing projects, to minimize the possibility of erroneous sequence?