front 1 16) Which of the following defines the essential gene set of an organism such as a species of yeast? A) the fewest genes that an organism needs to divide B) genes whose mutations result in haploinsufficiency C) genes that, when mutated, are conditionally lethal in special environments D) genes whose deletion alleles are lethal E) genes that, when mutated, reduce the growth of a heterozygous organism | back 1 D |
front 2 17) When Warnecke and colleagues were looking for genes that are involved in the digestion of lignocellulose by termites, they needed genes . A) for the bacterial enzymes found in the lignocellulose-digesting part of the gut B) from the sequences of the termite genome C) of the termites' mitochondria D) genes found in cells of the termites mouth E) expressed when a termite is eating | back 2 A |
front 3 18) Which is more likely to be the case for gene A found at the hub of a genetic network, compared to gene B, in the same network but not in a hub? A) gene A encodes a transcription factor that controls the expression of one gene B) gene A is highly expressed C) gene A controls the expression of many genes D) gene A is a nuclear gene, while gene B is mitochondrial E) gene B encodes a protein that interacts with many different proteins | back 3 C |
front 4 19) Transcomplementation is a name sometimes given for a test to see whether a gene from one organism can "rescue" a loss-of-function mutant of a different organism with a homologous gene. To which of the following processes might this term apply? A) use of Drosophila heat shock gene promoters to regulate heat shock genes in the model fish, fugu B) substitution of a drought-resistant gene from potato plants with a drought-resistant gene from a cactus species C) replacement of a nonfunctional globin gene with a globin pseudogene D) introduction of a human WEE1 gene into a yeast culture with wee1- mutant yeast E) replacement of a cdc25- with a cdc13 gene to rescue a cell cycle dysfunction | back 4 D |
front 5 20) A researcher measures the quantity of cDNA that corresponds to the exons of a particular gene in mice using RNA-seq. They find that RNA for this gene isolated from the brain contains 4 exons, while RNA from the liver heart and skin contains 5 exons. What phenomenon likely explains this result? A) cells of the brain splice this mRNA differently than other cells in the mouse B) the skin, liver and heart cells differentiate before the brain and so have different exons C) there is a brain-specific allele compared to the other cells in the mouse D) the mRNA in the brain is a pseudogene E) the brain cell chromosome lacks the exon that is present in the other cells of the mouse | back 5 A |
front 6 21) A researcher is annotating a newly-sequenced chromosome that they constructed from contigs sequenced from a sample of Antarctic ice. The cell/organism that the chromosome came from is not known, however it yielded a single circular chromosome. You are asked to run a BLAST search to help this researcher identify the most related organism in GenBank. What would be the best strategy? A) Use several ~1000bp portions of the DNA sequence to search for the closest matches from among the entire available database. B) Look for an exact match to the whole chromosome. C) Look for a nearly identical match to a very small part (20-40 bp) of the chromosome from all known ice bacteria. D) Compare the most unusual portion of this newly-discovered chromosome to al known animal genomes. E) Perform many careful one-by-one comparisons between the newly-discovered DNA sequence and species selected from GenBank, one at a time. | back 6 A |
front 7 1) Which type of sequencing involves first creating a physical map? A) metagenomic sequencing B) whole-genome shotgun sequencing C) clone-by-clone sequencing D) annotation sequencing E) paired-end sequencing | back 7 C |
front 8 2) Previously unidentifiable microorganisms have now been identified through . 2) A) evolutionary genomics B) transcriptomics C) metagenomics D) reverse transcription E) proteomics | back 8 C |
front 9 3) Shotgun sequencing requires all of the following except? A) many overlapping DNA sequences B) a computer C) a genetic map D) a DNA sequencing technology E) software capable of comparing DNA sequence | back 9 C |
front 10 4) Groups of genes that are evolutionarily related are called . A) gene domains B) metagenomes C) gene duplications D) gene families E) SNPs | back 10 D |
front 11 5) It has been predicted that genes may be involved in smoking behavior. Previously, large twin and 5) family studies have provided evidence of this and an estimate of heritability (genetic contribution) of 46-59%, depending on sex. A large group of researchers from several institutions composed a pathway- or-systems-based series of studies including SNP analysis, cellular location and protein interaction, replication with other samples, statistical analysis, and bioinformatics. What is a likely result? A) The samples used also correlate with behaviors like depression, often associated with smoking, and they may be finding depression-associated genes. B) Two specific genes, one for a transporter protein and one for an opioid receptor, are clearly shown to be causative in all members of each sample. C) A group of genes that tend to code for proteins with similar biological function have been identified to contribute significantly. D) Genome-wide association studies are of no practical use in studying human behaviors. E) The study is unlikely to produce meaningful results because it is too diffuse in its methods. | back 11 C |
front 12 6) Which of the following would likely exclude a sequence from being considered as an active gene? 6) A) only one long exon B) introns missing the GT-AG splice junctions compared to other genes in this family C) a promoter with signals identical to the promoter of another gene D) exons in different reading frames from one another E) an exon followed by 3′ processing signals | back 12 B |
front 13 7) Interspecific genome comparisons can help to identify all but of the following except? 7) A) the farms where produce at the supermarket comes from B) variation in nucleotides across a species breeding range C) differences in nucleotide sequence between identical twins D) biological fathers in cases of paternity E) conserved nucleotides within a genus | back 13 E |
front 14 8) Celiac disease (CD) is a common, usually inherited human disorder of intestinal inflammation that 8) is triggered by eating gluten, a major protein in wheat and other cereal grains. It is the most frequent food intolerance. One of the three genes involved encodes SH2B3, a protein involved in innate, nonspecific immune response to bacterial pathogens. Celiac sufferers frequently have a particular allele of this gene, an allele so common in the human population that which of the following might be hypothesized? A) The gene must code for a T-cell receptor for a common bacterial component. B) The non-celiac allele must have been selected against in previous human populations. C) The gene must be common to all primate genomes. D) The gene must be common in most mammalian genomes. E) The allele must have been positively selected for during a period of especially frequent bacterial infections. | back 14 E |
front 15 9) Although whole-genome duplications that result in polyploidy are fairly common in plant species, 9) which of the following are common in other eukaryotes? A) whole chromosome loss B) segmental duplications of small gene regions C) deletion of an entire haploid set of chromosomes D) duplication of whole chromosome arms E) miscellaneous aneuploidies in living members of a species | back 15 B |
front 16 10) To study the maximum amount of genome diversity in humans, which of the following provides 10) the most information? A) DNA fingerprinting B) SNP variation C) sequencing of one or more specific genes D) ortholog comparisons E) karyotyping | back 16 B |
front 17 11) Subtelomeres are blocks of homologous DNA sequences close to the ends of chromosomes. When 11) sequences of chromosomes 4q and 10q subtelomeres were analyzed from a world-wide population, only seventeen 4q haplotypes and and eight 10q haplotypes were found among African, European, and Asian groups, making these the least diverse subtelomeres shared by these ethnic groups. Which conclusion do these data support? A) a conclusion that assigning chromosomal origin is only possible in a population with the same ethnic origin B) finding that few or no interchromosomal exchanges can occur among these chromosomes C) reporting that haplotype polymorphism shows no response to natural selection D) a conclusion that all haplotypes were present before the human population migrated from Africa E) humans have made multiple migrations out of Africa | back 17 D |
front 18 12) Recombination between two Alu elements can result in deletions of chromosome segments. In a 12) recent study, researchers compared Alu recombination-mediated deletions of humans and chimpanzees. They identified 492 human-specific deletions of this type. Why is this finding important? A) It shows how much the chimpanzee genome has changed since the divergence of these two lineages. B) It shows that the time of divergence of the two lineages is much older than was previously thought. C) It shows that more deletions have occurred in humans than in chimps. D) It shows that humans are not as genetically close to chimpanzees as researchers previously thought. E) It demonstrates the importance of Alu recombination in shaping genome divergence. | back 18 E |
front 19 13) When authors discuss gene annotation, to what do they refer? 13) A) gene expression measurements for all coding genes in a genome B) describing protein expression patters C) use of computers to guess at gene location and function based on comparison to known genes D) comparison of conserved sequences E) using DNA sequencing to detect genes of unknown function | back 19 C |
front 20 14) Which of the following describes genome tiling arrays? A) use of high-throughput DNA sequencing technology B) aligning chromosomes based the sequence of short pieces of DNA C) use of one or more arrays that together contain all sequences of a genome D) use of cDNA arrays E) use of RNA-based arrays | back 20 C |
front 21 15) What is the purpose of the two-hybrid system? A) to explore a cDNA library to find interacting DNA sequences B) to study the interaction between an enhancer and a promoter C) to locate the chromosomal position of hybridized genes D) to study the nature of two hybrid organisms at a time E) to discover how and whether two proteins interact | back 21 E |