The biggest problem with the shotgun technique is its tendency to underestimate the size of the genome. Which of the following might best account for this?

A) skipping some of the clones to be sequenced
B) missing some of the overlapping regions of the clones
C) counting some of the overlapping regions of the clones twice
D) having some of the clones die during the experiment and therefore not be represented
E) missing some duplicated sequences

E

What is metagenomics?

A) genomics as applied to a species that most typifies the average phenotype of its genus
B) the sequence of one or two representative genes from several species
C) the sequencing of only the most highly conserved genes in a lineage
D) sequencing DNA from a group of species from the same ecosystem
E) genomics as applied to an entire phylum

D

Which procedure is not required when the shotgun approach to sequencing is modified as sequencing by synthesis, in which many small fragments are sequenced simultaneously?

A) use of restriction enzymes
B) sequencing each fragment
C) cloning each fragment into a plasmid
D) ordering the sequences
E) PCR amplification

C

What is bioinformatics?

A) a technique using 3-D images of genes in order to predict how and when they will be expressed
B) a method that uses very large national and international databases to access and work with sequence
information
C) a software program available from NIH to design genes
D) a series of search programs that allow a student to identify who in the world is trying to sequence a
given species
E) a procedure that uses software to order DNA sequences in a variety of comparable ways

B

What is proteomics?

A) the linkage of each gene to a particular protein
B) the study of the full protein set encoded by a genome
C) the totality of the functional possibilities of a single protein
D) the study of how amino acids are ordered in a protein
E) the study of how a single gene activates many proteins

B

Bioinformatics can be used to scan sequences for probable genes looking for start and stop sites for transcription and for translation, for probable splice sites, and for sequences known to be found in other known genes. Such sequences containing these elements are called

A) expressed sequence tags.
B) cDNA
C) multigene families
D) proteomes
E) short tandem repeats

A

A microarray known as a GeneChip, with most now-known human protein coding sequences, has been developed to aid in the study of human cancer by first comparing two to three subsets of cancer subtypes. What kind of information might be gleaned from this GeneChip to aid in cancer prevention?

A) information about whether or not a patient has this type of cancer prior to treatment
B) evidence that might suggest how best to treat a person's cancer with chemotherapy
C) data that could alert patients to what kind of cancer they were likely to acquire
D) information about which parent might have provided a patient with cancer-causing genes
E) information on cancer epidemiology in the United States or elsewhere

C

What is gene annotation in bioinformatics?

A) finding transcriptional start and stop sites, RNA splice sites, and ESTs
B) describing the functions of protein-coding genes
C) describing the functions of noncoding regions of the genome
D) matching the corresponding phenotypes of different species
E) comparing the protein sequences within a single phylum

A

Why is it unwise to try to relate an organism's complexity with its size or number of cells?

A) A very large organism may be composed of very few cells or very few cell types.
B) A single-celled organism, such as a bacterium or a protist, still has to conduct all the complex life functions of a large multicellular organism.
C) A single-celled organism that is also eukaryotic, such as a yeast, still reproduces mitotically.
D) A simple organism can have a much larger genome.
E) A complex organism can have a very small and simple genome

B

Fragments of DNA have been extracted from the remnants of extinct woolly mammoths, amplified, and sequenced. These can now be used to

A) introduce into relatives, such as elephants, certain mammoth traits.
B) clone live woolly mammoths.
C) study the relationships among woolly mammoths and other wool-producers.
D) understand the evolutionary relationships among members of related taxa.
E) appreciate the reasons why mammoths went extinct.

D

If humans have 2,900 Mb, a specific member of the lily family has 120,000 Mb, and a yeast has ~13 Mb, why can't this data allow us to order their evolutionary significance?

A) Size matters less than gene density.
B) Size does not compare to gene density.
C) Size does not vary with gene complexity.
D) Size is mostly due to "junk" DNA.
E) Size is comparable only within phyla.

C

Which of the following is a representation of gene density?

A) Humans have 2,900 Mb per genome.
B) C. elegans has ~20,000 genes.
C) Humans have ~20,000 genes in 2,900 Mb.
D) Humans have 27,000 bp in introns.
E) Fritillaria has a genome 40 times the size of a human.

C

Why might the cricket genome have 11 times as many base pairs as that of Drosophila melanogaster?

A) The two insect species evolved at very different geologic eras.
B) Crickets have higher gene density.
C) Drosophila are more complex organisms.
D) Crickets must have more noncoding DNA
E) Crickets must make many more proteins.

D

The comparison between the number of human genes and those of other animal species has led to many conclusions, including

A) the density of the human genome is far higher than in most other animals.
B) the number of proteins expressed by the human genome is far more than the number of its genes.
C) most human DNA consists of genes for protein, tRNA, rRNA, and miRNA.
D) the genomes of other organisms are most significantly smaller than the human genome.

B

Barbara McClintock, who achieved fame for discovering that genes could move within genomes, had her meticulous work ignored for nearly four decades, but eventually won the Nobel Prize. Why was her work so distrusted?

A) The work of women scientists was still not allowed to be published.
B) Geneticists did not want to lose their cherished notions of DNA stability.
C) There were too many alternative explanations for transposition.
D) She allowed no one else to duplicate her work.
E) She worked only with maize, which was considered merely a plant.

B

What is the most probable explanation for the continued presence of pseudogenes in a genome such as our own?

A) They are genes that had a function at one time, but that have lost their function because they have been translocated to a new location
B) They are genes that have accumulated mutations to such a degree that they would code for different functional products if activated
C) They are duplicates or near duplicates of functional genes but cannot function because they would provide inappropriate dosage of protein products
D) They are genes with significant inverted sequences
E) They are genes that are not expressed, even though they have nearly identical sequences to expressed genes

E

What characteristic of short tandem repeat DNA makes it useful for DNA fingerprinting?

A) The number of repeats varies widely from person to person or animal to animal.
B) The sequence of DNA that is repeated varies significantly from individual to individual.
C) The sequence variation is acted upon differently by natural selection in different environments.
D) Every racial and ethnic group has inherited different short tandem repeats.

A

Alu elements account for about 10% of the human genome. What does this mean?

A) Alu elements cannot be transcribed into RNA.
B) Alu elements evolved in very ancient times, before mammalian radiation.
C) Alu elements represent the result of transposition.
D) No Alu elements are found within individual genes.
E) Alu elements are cDNA and therefore related to retrotransposons.

C

A multigene family is composed of

A) multiple genes whose products must be coordinately expressed
B) genes whose sequences are very similar and that probably arose by duplication
C) the many tandem repeats such as those found in centromeres and telomeres
D) a gene whose exons can be spliced in a number of different ways
E) a highly conserved gene found in a number of different species

B

In comparing the genomes of humans and those of other higher primates, it is seen that humans have a large metacentric pair we call chromosome 2 among our 46 chromosomes, whereas the other primates of this group have 48 chromosomes and any pair like the human chromosome 2 pair is not present; instead, the primate groups each have two pairs of midsize acrocentric chromosomes. What is the most likely explanation?

A) The ancestral organism had 48 chromosomes and at some point a centric fusion event occurred and provided some selective advantage.
B) The ancestral organism had 46 chromosomes, but primates evolved when one of the pairs broke in half
C) At some point in evolution, human ancestors and primate ancestors were able to mate and produce fertile offspring, making a new species.
D) Chromosome breakage results in additional centromeres being made in order for meiosis to proceed successfully.
E) Transposable elements transferred significantly large segments of the chromosomes to new locations.

A

Which of the following can be duplicated in a genome?

A) DNA sequences above a minimum size only
B) DNA sequences below a minimum size only
C) entire chromosomes only
D) entire sets of chromosomes only
E) sequences, chromosomes, or sets of chromosomes

E

Unequal crossing over during prophase I can result in one sister chromosome with a deletion and another with a duplication. A mutated form of hemoglobin, known as hemoglobin Lepore, is known in the human population. Hemoglobin Lepore has a deleted set of amino acids. If it was caused by unequal crossing over, what would be an expected consequence?

A) If it is still maintained in the human population, hemoglobin Lepore must be selected for in evolution.
B) There should also be persons born with, if not living long lives with, an anti-Lepore mutation or duplication.
C) Each of the genes in the hemoglobin gene family must show the same deletion.
D) The deleted gene must have undergone exon shuffling.
E) The deleted region must be located in a different area of the individual's genome.

B

When does exon shuffling occur?

A) during splicing of DNA
B) during mitotic recombination
C) as an alternative splicing pattern in post-transcriptional processing
D) as an alternative cleavage or modification post-translationally
E) as the result of faulty DNA repair

C

What are genomic hot spots?

A) the locations that correspond to most genetic diseases
B) the areas of a genome that most often mutate due to environmental effects
C) the locations that most often correspond with chromosomal breakpoints
D) the locations that correspond to most genetic diseases and the locations that most often correspond with chromosomal breakpoints
E) the locations that correspond to most genetic diseases, the areas of a genome that most often mutate due to environmental effects, and the locations that most often correspond with chromosomal breakpoints

E

In order to determine the probable function of a particular sequence of DNA in humans, what might be the most reasonable approach?

A) Prepare a knockout mouse without a copy of this sequence and examine the mouse phenotype
B) Genetically engineer a mouse with a copy of this sequence and examine its phenotype
C) Look for a reasonably identical sequence in another species, prepare a knockout of this sequence in that species, and look for the consequences
D) Prepare a genetically engineered bacterial culture with the sequence inserted and assess which new protein is synthesized
E) Mate two individuals heterozygous for the normal and mutated sequences

C

Homeotic genes contain a homeobox sequence that is highly conserved among very diverse species. The homeobox is the code for that domain of a protein that binds to DNA in a regulatory developmental process. Which of the following would you then expect?

A) that homeotic genes are selectively expressed over developmental time
B) that a homeobox-containing gene has to be a developmental regulator
C) that homeoboxes cannot be expressed in nonhomeotic genes
D) that all organisms must have homeotic genes
E) that all organisms must have homeobox-containing genes

A

Which of the following studies would not likely be characterized as eco-devo?

A) the study of a particular species to see whether or not it has developmental regulation
B) a study of the assortment of homeotic genes in the zebra
C) a comparison of the functions of a particular homeotic gene among four species of reptiles
D) studying the environmental pressures on developmental stages such as the tadpole
E) a fossil comparison of organisms from the Devonian era

C

A recent report has indicated several conclusions about comparisons of our genome with that of Neanderthals. This report concludes, in part, that, at some period in evolutionary history, there was an admixture of the two genomes. This is evidenced by

A) some Neanderthal sequences not found in humans.
B) a small number of modern H. sapiens with Neanderthal sequences.
C) Neanderthal Y chromosomes preserved in the modern population of males.
D) mitochondrial sequences common to both groups.

B