Genetics, International Edition

Chimpanzee Genomes Is Helping to Reveal Genes That Make Humans UniqueQuantitative GeneticsQuantitative Characteristics Vary Continuously and Many Are Influenced by Alleles at Multiple LociStatistical Methods Are Required for Analyzing Quantitative CharacteristicsHeritability Is Used to Estimate the Proportion of Variation in a Trait That Is GeneticGenetically Variable Traits Change in Response to SelectionLinkage, Recombination, and Eukaryotic Gene MappingLinked Genes Do Not Assort IndependentlyLinked Genes Segregate Together and Crossing Over Produces Recombination Between ThemA Three-Point Testcross Can Be Used to Map Three Linked GenesPhysical-Mapping Methods Are Used to Determine the Physical Positions of Genes on Particular ChromosomesRecombination Rates Exhibit Extensive VariationBacterial and Viral Genetic SystemsGenetic Analysis of Bacteria Requires Special MethodsBacteria Exchange Genes Through Conjugation, Transformation, and TransductionViruses Are Simple Replicating Systems Amenable to Genetic AnalysisChromosome VariationChromosome Mutations Include Rearrangements, Aneuploids, and PolyploidsChromosome Rearrangements Alter Chromosome StructureAneuploidy Is an Increase or Decrease in the Number of Individual ChromosomesPolyploidy Is the Presence of More Than Two Sets of ChromosomesChromosome Variation Plays an Important Role in EvolutionDNA: The Chemical Nature of the GeneGenetic Material Possesses Several Key CharacteristicsAll Genetic Information Is Encoded in the Structure of DNA or RNADNA Consists of Two Complementary and Antiparallel Nucleotide Strands That Form a Double HelixSpecial Structures Can Form in DNA and RNAChromosome Structure and Transposable ElementsLarge Amounts of DNA Are Packed into a CellEukaryotic Chromosomes Possess Centromeres and TelomeresEukaryotic DNA Contains Several Classes of Sequence VariationTransposable Elements Are DNA Sequences Capable of MovingDifferent Types of Transposable Elements Have Characteristic StructuresTransposable Elements Have Played an Important Role in Genome EvolutionDNA Replication and RecombinationGenetic Information Must Be Accurately Copied Every Time a Cell DividesAll DNA Replication Takes Place in a Semiconservative MannerBacterial Replication Requires a Large Number of Enzymes and ProteinsEukaryotic DNA Replication Is Similar to Bacterial Replication but Differs in Several AspectsRecombination Takes Place Through the Breakage, Alignment, and Repair of DNA StrandsTranscriptionRNA, Consisting of a Single Strand of Ribonucleotides, Participates in a Variety of Cellular FunctionsTranscription Is the Synthesis of an RNA Molecule from a DNA TemplateThe Process of Bacterial Transcription Consists of Initiation, Elongation, and TerminationEukaryotic Transcription Is Similar to Bacterial Transcription but Has Some Important DifferencesTranscription in Archaea Is More Similar to Transcription in Eukaryotes Than to Transcription in EubacteriaRNA Molecules and RNA ProcessingMany Genes Have Complex StructuresMessenger RNAs, Which Encode the Amino Acid Sequences of Proteins, Are Modified after Transcription in EukaryotesTransfer RNAs, Which Attach to Amino Acids, Are Modified after Transcription in Bacterial and Eukaryotic CellsRibosomal RNA, a Component of the Ribosome, Also Is Processed after TranscriptionSmall RNA Molecules Participate in a Variety of FunctionsThe Genetic Code and TranslationMany Genes Encode ProteinsThe Genetic Code Determines How the Nucleotide Sequence Specifies the Amino Acid Sequence of a ProteinAmino Acids Are Assembled into a Protein Through the Mechanism of TranslationAdditional Properties of RNA and Ribosomes Affect Protein SynthesisControl of Gene Expression in ProkaryotesThe Regulation of Gene Expression Is Critical for All OrganismsOperons Control Transcription in Bacterial CellsSome Operons Regulate Transcription Through Attenuation, the Premature Termination of TranscriptionRNA Molecules Control the Expression of Some Bacterial GenesControl of Gene Expression in EukaryotesEukaryotic Cells and Bacteria Have Many Features of Gene Regulation in Common, but They Differ in Several Important WaysChanges in Chromatin Structure Affect the Expression of GenesEpigenetic Effects Often Result from Alterations in Chromatin StructureThe Initiation of Transcription Is Regulated by Transcription Factors and Transcriptional Regulator ProteinsSome Genes Are Regulated by RNA Processing and DegradationRNA Interference Is an Important Mechanism of Gene RegulationSome Genes Are Regulated by Processes That Affect Translation or by Modifications of ProteinsGene Mutations and DNA RepairMutations Are Inherited Alterations in the DNA SequenceMutations Are Potentially Caused by a Number of Different Natural and Unnatural FactorsMutations Are the Focus of Intense Study by GeneticistsA Number of Pathways Repair Changes in DNAMolecular Genetic Analysis and BiotechnologyTechniques of Molecular Genetics Have Revolutionized BiologyMolecular Techniques Are Used to Isolate, Recombine, and Amplify GenesMolecular Techniques Can Be Used to Find Genes of InterestDNA Sequences Can Be Determined and AnalyzedMolecular Techniques Are Increasingly Used to Analyze Gene FunctionBiotechnology Harnesses the Power of Molecular GeneticsGenomics and ProteomicsStructural Genomics Determines the DNA Sequences of Entire GenomesFunctional Genomics Determines the Function of Genes by Using Genomic-Based ApproachesComparative Genomics Studies How Genomes EvolveProteomics Analyzes the Complete Set of Proteins Found in a CellOrganelle DNAMitochondria and Chloroplasts Are Eukaryotic Cytoplasmic OrganellesMitochondrial DNA Varies Widely in Size and OrganizationChloroplast DNA Exhibits Many Properties of Eubacterial DNAThrough Evolutionary Time, Genetic Information Has Moved Between Nuclear, Mitochondrial, and Chloroplast GenomesDamage to Mitochondrial DNA Is Associated with AgingDevelopmental Genetics and ImmunogeneticsDevelopment Takes Place Through Cell DeterminationPattern Formation in Drosophila Serves As a Model for the Genetic Control of DevelopmentGenes Control the Development of Flowers in PlantsProgrammed Cell Death Is an Integral Part of DevelopmentThe Study of Development Reveals Patterns and Processes of EvolutionThe Development of Immunity Is Through Genetic RearrangementCancer GeneticsCancer Is a Group of Diseases Characterized by Cell ProliferationMutations in a Number of Different Types of Genes Contribute to CancerChanges in Chromosome Number and Structure Are Often Associated with CancerViruses Are Associated with Some CancersEpigenetic Changes Are Often Associated with CancerColorectal Cancer Arises Through the Sequential Mutation of a Number of GenesPopulation GeneticsGenotypic and Allelic Frequencies Are Used to Describe the Gene Pool of a PopulationThe Hardy-Weinberg Law Describes the Effect of Reproduction on Genotypic and Allelic FrequenciesNonrandom Mating Affects the Genotypic Frequencies of a PopulationSeveral Evolutionary Forces Potentially Cause Changes in Allelic FrequenciesEvolutionary GeneticsOrganisms Evolve Through Genetic Change Taking Place Within PopulationsMany Natural Populations Contain High Levels of Genetic VariationNew Species Arise Through the Evolution of Reproductive IsolationThe Evolutionary History of a Group of Organisms Can Be Reconstructed by Studying Changes in Homologous CharacteristicsPatterns of Evolution Are Revealed by Changes at the Molecular LevelReference Guide to Model Genetic Organisms