VCE Biology Unit 4 Notes

Edward&Cliff&
eddie@connecteducation.com.au-
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Table&of&Contents&&
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Section( Page(
Introduction( -
Area(of(Study(One-- -
Instructions-for-Life-- 6-
The-Cell-Cycle- 21-
Sexual-and-Asexual-Reproduction- 28-
The-Central-Dogma-of-Molecular-Biology- 40-
Gene-Regulation- 48-
Mutations- 52-
Inheritance- 58-
Pedigrees- 80-
Further-Applications-of-Genetics- 88-
Area(of(Study(Two(( -
Population-Genetics- 2-
Variation-- 5-
Evolution- 21-
Mapping-Evolution- 35-
Fossils-and-Dating- 53-
Hominin-Evolution- 80-
Appendix(1--Exam-Advice- -
Appendix(2--Hominin-Evolution-Questions- -
Appendix(3--Stem-Cells- -
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(c) Connect Education 14
27
MlLosls
! romeLaphase
- nuclear membrane dlslnLegraLes
- CenLromeres llne up wlLh splndles Lo form klneLochores
! MeLaphase
- Chromosomes llne up along equaLorlal plaLe, one auached Lo each splndle
aL lLs cenLromere
! Anaphase
- Chromosomes spllL (dls[uncuon) aL cenLromere
- uaughLer chromosomes mlgraLe Lo each end of Lhe cell and splndles begln
Lo dlsappear
! 1elophase
- CyLoplasm beglns Lo consLrlcL and Lhe cell sLarLs Lo plnch ln half
- Chromauds are now separaLe chromosomes
! CyLoklnesls - cyLoplasmlc dlvlslon noL parL of mlLosls
28
Asexual 8eproducuon
! 8lnary sslon, a form of asexual
reproducuon, ls used by prokaryoLes &
prousLs Lo reproduce
! 1hls process resulLs ln Lhe reproducuon of
a llvlng cell by dlvlslon lnLo Lwo equal or
near-equal parLs.
! CenoLypes of parenLs and osprlng are
ldenucal
- lasLer, energy cheaper and useful for
propagaung an advanLageous LralL e.g.
reslsLance
- Less varlauon so more suscepuble Lo exuncuon
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49
ApopLosls
! Ceneucally programmed cell deaLh
- noL !%#,&)/), cell deaLh due Lo ussue damage or Lrauma
! Slgnals (cyLoklnes) Lrlgger acuvauon of sulclde mechanlsms ln
cells (caspases), whlch are Lhen engulfed by phagocyLes
! Slgnals can come from wlLhln Lhe cell, lf Lhe cell reallses lL ls
damaged (e.g. unA, enzyme, lnfecuon by vlrus) C8
! Slgnals can come from ouLslde Lhe cell, lf Lhe cell ls noL
developlng properly (cell cycle checks) or lf Lhere are Loo many of
a speclc cell Lype
- Can happen Lo dlseased or dysfuncuonal cells buL ALSC Lo healLhy cells
! Cancer - when repllcauon and apopLosls are ouL of balance
- 1hls ls a poLenual concern for some geneuc englneerlng Lechnlques, where
lL ls feared LhaL reprogrammlng cells wlll prevenL Lhem from dylng when
necessary
50
ApopLosls ulagram
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69
Sex Llnked lnherlLance
! Some lnherlLed condluons aecL more males Lhan females e.g.
red/green colour bllndness, haemophllla and muscular dysLrophy
! 1hls relaLes Lo Lhe sex chromosomes
- Pumans have 46 chromosomes ln 23 palrs. 1he lasL palr of chromosomes ln
females ls Lwo x chromosomes. 1he lasL palr ln males ls noL a palr - Lhey are Lwo
dlerenL chromosomes called Lhe x and ? chromosomes
! Why ls x llnkage common buL ? llnkage almosL non-exlsLenL?
! 1he condluon of red-green colour bllndness ls a recesslve
condluon and Lhe alleles whlch code for lL are carrled on Lhe x
chromosome buL noL on Lhe ?
! 1hus females wlLh Lhe condluon musL have Lwo coples of Lhe
recesslve allele - one on each x chromosome l.e. x
r
x
r
! Powever, males do noL have Lwo x chromosomes, so Lo have Lhe
condluon Lhey wlll be x
r
? - l.e. only one copy of Lhe recesslve
allele Lo show Lhe condluon. (B7CDEFG;H=I
70
Sex llnkage
! lemales wlLh one copy of Lhe recesslve allele are #1,,/%,).because
Lhey do noL express Lhe condluon buL can pass lL on Lo Lhelr
osprlng
! Cenes LhaL are on Lhe x chromosome are sald Lo be )%J3$/!?%( or
K3$/!?%(.
! ?ou musL lnclude Lhe sex of an lndlvldual ln lLs genoLype 1!( lLs
phenoLype - lL musL be sLaLed when phenoLypes are glven!
! e.g. colour-bllndness
! 8 - normal vlslon
! r - colour-bllnd
! : carrler female x normal male
! x8xr x8?
! CameLes: x8 or xr x8 or ?
! l1: x8x8 x8? x8xr xr?
! normal female normal male normal female colour-bllnd male
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losslls
! asL evldence used Lo show relauonshlps and how Lhey have
changed over ume - e.g. speclauon
! D(!!%06X6preserved remalns or evldence of organlsms LhaL once
llved, oen locaLed ln sedlmenLary rock or anoLher geologlcal
deposlL
! 8ock Lypes: lgneous, meLamorphlc and sedlmenLary
! Why are fosslls unllkely Lo form ln lgneous or meLamorphlc rock?
! CLher examples of medla ln whlch fosslls can form:
! Amber, lce, Lar, peaL bogs (decayed vegeLauon)
! Clve lndlcauons of cllmaLe, llfesLyle, hablLaL, blologlcal and
sLrucLural change, cohablLauon, behavlour " clear lncrease ln
complexlLy provldes evldence for evoluuon
! ConunenLal drl
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Condluons for losslllsauon
VL @apld burlal (by 4$2!($"1)
! 8educe chance of deslccauon or breakdown
YL ZndlsLurbed by scavengers or oLher evenLs6
[L ;ecomposers (mlcrobes) absenL as a resulL
of low C
2
and low LemperaLure6
\L ;ownward pressure
3. (hard body parLs - bones, skulls,
exoskeleLon, planL ussue / bre)
! Why do land anlmals rarely form fosslls?
ConnectEducation2011

StemCells

Ethicalconsiderationsandbiologicaladvantagesanddisadvantagesinvolvedin:

AdultStemCells
Foundinalmostalladultorgansandtissues,usednormallytoreplacedamaged
ordeadcells(tomaintainandrepairthetissueinwhichtheyarefound)
o E.g.skinstemcellsgiverisetonewskincells
Multipotent(alreadyfairlyspecialised)Dcanadoptallformsofcellwhichmake
uptheparticularorgantowhichtheybelong
ContainEselfFantigensandthereforeareoftenrejectedwhentransplantedfrom
onepersontoanother
Possiblethatundersomeconditions,certaintypesofadultstemcellsfromone
tissuemaybeabletocoloniseacompletelydifferenttissueDthisisknownas
plasticity.Thefactorsandconditionsthatcontrolthedifferentiationofadult
stemcellsarecurrentlyunderinvestigation

Biologicaladvantages:
Canbetransplantedwithinapersone.g.tohelpadamagedboneheal,toreplace
mutantcellsinaparticularpartofthebody(soyoucansometimesusea
patientKsarmcellstohelpfixaleg,forexample)
E.g.haematopoieticstemcells(canformbloodcells)
Bonemarrowtransplantshavebeenusedtotreatdisorderssuchaslymphomas,
leukemiaandthalassemia
Doesnotinvolvethedestructionofembryos

Biologicaldisadvantages:
Sometimeshardtoisolateastheyonlyexistinsmallnumbers
Containselfantigens;difficulttotransplantwithoutcausinganimmunereaction
LessversatilethanembryonicstemcellsDcanonlyformcellsfromtissuein
whichtheyarefound

Ethicalconsiderations:
Nonereally,asnoembryosaredestroyed,andinmostcasespeopleareonly
receivingtheirowncells.

EmbryonicStemCells
Takenfrominnercellmassofablastocyst(47dayoldembryo)andthus
involvesthedestructionofanembryo
TakenfromleftoverIVFembryoswithinformedconsentfromparentsDonlyfor
researchcurrently(notderivedfromeggsfertilisedwithinawomanKsbodyasit
isillegaltoconductresearchonnaturallyconceivedembryos,ortocreate
embryosforresearchpurposes)
PluripotentDabletogenerateeverycelltypeofthebody(cancreateanycell
typenecessaryforthedevelopmentofallofthetissuesandorgansofthe