Biology 210 Sample Final Exam Questions (Molecular Biology)

1. You are interested in neuronal control of muscle function, and you are doing a mutational analysis of this important biological process. You have identified a mutation in the round worm, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), for which a genome project has been completed. Worms homozygous for this mutation have poor muscle control, and move abnormally. You are very excited about this mutation, because you hypothesize that it disrupts a gene that plays an important role in establishing synapses (connections) between neurons and muscles. In the proper order, list at least three basic steps you would take in the subsequent analysis of this gene. At the end of your analysis, you should be able to predict the cellular function of the protein.

2. If you were to construct a genomic library from human genomic DNA by the method of "shotgun cloning", the resulting library would contain many recombinant molecules. Some of these recombinant molecules would contain genes (or pieces of genes) as inserts. Other recombinant molecules would contain inserts of human genomic DNA fragments with no genes at all. Provide a brief explanation for this.

3. You have isolated and completely characterized a gene from the mouse called the brainy gene, which plays an important role in the function of the central nervous system. You simply want to find out if chimpanzees have a gene homologous (similar) to the mouse brainy gene. Briefly outline (in flow chart form would be nice) the type of experiment would you do to answer this question in the most efficient manner possible.

4. The development of recombinant DNA technology has led to major advancements in our understanding of the molecular bases of genetics.

a) Briefly explain what a recombinant DNA molecule is.

b) List three kinds of vectors that can be used in making recombinant DNA molecules.

5. Briefly (one or two sentences for each) define or explain (in the context of molecular genetics, of course!) each of the following terms.

autosome

transcription factor

transversion

histone

6. (16 points). Haplo-insufficiency and dominant gain-of-function are two different mechanisms by which a mutant allele of a gene can be dominant to the wild-type allele. Explain, at the molecular level, the difference between haplo-insufficiency and dominant gain-of-function.