Genetic Essentials: Concepts and
Connections Chapter 1
blending inheritance - the traits of offspring are a blend, or mixture, of parental traits
Cell reproduction - 1. Its genetic information must be copied
2. The copies of the genetic information must be separated from each other
3. The cells must divide
cell theory - all life is composed of cells, cells arise only from preexisting cells, and the
cell is the fundamental unit of structure and function in living organisms
Diploid Eukaryotic Cell - Organism has two sets of chromosomes organized as
homologous pairs
Eukaryote - cell that possesses a more complex structure, with a nucleus and multiple
linear chromosomes of DNA associated with histone proteins
• In eukaryotes, DNA is closely associated with a special class of proteins, the histone,
to form tightly packed chromosomes. This complex of DNA and histone proteins, called
chromatin, is the stuff of eukaryotic chromosomes.
• The histone proteins limit the accessibility of the chromatin to enzymes and other
proteins that copy and read the DNA, but they enable the DNA to fit into the nucleus.
genome - the complete set of genetic instructions for any organism
germ-plasm theory - cells in the reproductive organs carry a complete set of genetic
information that is passed to the egg and sperm
inheritance of acquired characteristics - traits acquired in a person's lifetime become
incorporated into that person's hereditary information and are passed onto their
offspring
model genetic organism - organisms with characteristics that make them particularly
useful for genetic analysis and about which a tremendous amount of genetic information
has accumulated
molecular genetics - concerns the chemical nature of the gene itself: how genetic
information is encoded, replicated and expressed. Includes the cellular processes of
replication, transcription, and translation, and of gene regulation. Adenine, Cytosine,
Guanine, and Thymine.
pangenesis - suggested that specific pieces of information travel from various parts of
the body to the reproductive organs, from which they are passed to the embryo
Connections Chapter 1
blending inheritance - the traits of offspring are a blend, or mixture, of parental traits
Cell reproduction - 1. Its genetic information must be copied
2. The copies of the genetic information must be separated from each other
3. The cells must divide
cell theory - all life is composed of cells, cells arise only from preexisting cells, and the
cell is the fundamental unit of structure and function in living organisms
Diploid Eukaryotic Cell - Organism has two sets of chromosomes organized as
homologous pairs
Eukaryote - cell that possesses a more complex structure, with a nucleus and multiple
linear chromosomes of DNA associated with histone proteins
• In eukaryotes, DNA is closely associated with a special class of proteins, the histone,
to form tightly packed chromosomes. This complex of DNA and histone proteins, called
chromatin, is the stuff of eukaryotic chromosomes.
• The histone proteins limit the accessibility of the chromatin to enzymes and other
proteins that copy and read the DNA, but they enable the DNA to fit into the nucleus.
genome - the complete set of genetic instructions for any organism
germ-plasm theory - cells in the reproductive organs carry a complete set of genetic
information that is passed to the egg and sperm
inheritance of acquired characteristics - traits acquired in a person's lifetime become
incorporated into that person's hereditary information and are passed onto their
offspring
model genetic organism - organisms with characteristics that make them particularly
useful for genetic analysis and about which a tremendous amount of genetic information
has accumulated
molecular genetics - concerns the chemical nature of the gene itself: how genetic
information is encoded, replicated and expressed. Includes the cellular processes of
replication, transcription, and translation, and of gene regulation. Adenine, Cytosine,
Guanine, and Thymine.
pangenesis - suggested that specific pieces of information travel from various parts of
the body to the reproductive organs, from which they are passed to the embryo
