Genetics in Anthropology Molecular anthropology 01 27 2016 Relationships among species phylogenies Modern human origins Diversity adaptation Distribution of diversity population structure migration Molecular identification Mating systems kinship networks Primate genomics primatology Genomics sequencing the entire genome and all genes and organism has Types of cells Somatic cells o Have different characteristics in different tissues Bone muscle skin fat brain hair etc o Also share many features Have same DNA Gametes o Sex cells o Sperm ova Mitochondrial DNA only from mother Energy producing organelles in eukaryotic cells Small amount of DNA contained in the cytoplasm of mitochondria Nuclear DNA Contains most of an organism s DNA Different sized chromosomes are related to differences in the amount of DNA in each Homoplastic o Same nuclear DNA in every cell of an organism Chromosomes In humans o Somatic cells have 46 gametes have 23 Comprised of DNA o Code for protein production Genome complete set of genes Chromosome pairs Homologous chromosomes are virtually identical in their physical and chemical structure Each pair of chromosomes has the same genes but the pair may have different alleles for specific genes Number of chromosomes for different organisms o Camel 70 chromosomes o Potato 48 chromosomes o Fly 12 chromosomes o Apple 34 chromosomes Karyotype Complete set of chromosomes Includes all of the autosomes and one pair of sex chromosomes Chromosomes and genes The DNA molecule o Deoxyribonucleic acid o Chemical template for every aspect of an organism o Double helix ladder like structure o Ladder base made up of 4 types of nucleotides Adenine thymine guanine cytosine Complementary pairs AT CG Base pair two complementary nucleotides bonded to one another DNA base pairs DNA replication One function of the DNA molecule is replication DNA makes identical copies of itself Part of cell division mitosis meiosis Production of identical somatic cells diploid cells Involves one DNA replication and one cell division o Produces 2 daughter cells Mitosis Meiosis Production of gametes haploid cells Does not result in identical copies of parent cell Includes one DNA replication and two cell divisions o Produces 4 daughter cells DNA producing protein Production of structural proteins Keratin o Primary component of skin hair fingernails claws beaks scales Collagen Transcription and translation Transcription o Happens in the nucleus o mRNA there is no Thymine in RNA it is replaced with Uracil RNA ribonucleic acid o Creates amino acids which then form proteins o Codon 3 of these nucleotides that are bunched together Codons are responsible for creating amino acids amino acids then Translation Codons Amino Acids create proteins Epigenetics Some evidence that your experience can influence your genes Hox genes organs Determines an animal s form and the arrangement of its tissues and Mutations in these genes body development may be altered Marfan syndrome o Hereditary disorder of the regulatory genes that control connective tissue o Uncontrolled bone growth leads to long and thing fingers and toes long and thin arms and legs and increased stature Hox genes have similar function in all complex organisms Polymorphisms variations in specific genes Each gene has a specific physical location locus Loci are valuable to understanding genetic variation Alleles on different loci are chemically alternative versions of the same gene Single nucleotide polymorphisms SNPs o Create variation between human populations Polygenic variation and pleiotropy Much of genetics is based on the one gene one protein model Many traits are polygenic and are determined by genes at more than one locus Polygenic trait many genes contribute to a single effect Pleiotropic effect a gene has multiple effects Traits produced from genes on different chromosomes are inherited Law of independent assortment independently of each other Linkage Genes on the same chromosome have a better chance of being inherited as a unit than with genes on a separate chromosome Genes that are closer together on a chromosome have a better chance of being inherited together Applied genetics Genetics agriculture today o GMOs genetically modified organisms plants animals Generically modified corn Genes from a naturally occurring bacterium produce crystal proteins that are lethal to insect larvae Crystal protein genes have been transferred to corn Genetically modified fruits Arctic flounder genes inserted into strawberries and tomatoes to increase resistance to cold temperatures Transferring genes between plants and animals Blurs the line between animals plants Increase food production human pop Is predicted to double in the next 50 years Resistance to pests diseases temp extremes Herbicide tolerance Nutrition Vitamin mineral enriched crops o Potential advantages of GM foods Pharmaceuticals Phytoremediation o Potential disadvantages of GM foods Environmental hazards Unintended harm to other organisms Reduced effectiveness of pesticides Gene transfer to non target species Human health risks Allergenicity Unknown effects on human health Ethical concerns playing God moving organisms around that don t originally contain these genes An even larger human population Supporting increasing food production can result in an over population of humans