Genomics and the tree of life

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Today we talked about the diversity of genomes and thier role in recostructing the tree of life. The material is basically covered on pages 15-24 of Alberts' book.

Goals of the topic

1. Understand the main reasons for the success of DNA-based life
2. Get a basic understanding of how genomes evolve
3. Understand how features of genomic evolution shape the tree od life
4. Understand the impact of genomics in the field of systematics
   

We well resume class starting at "New genes are generated from preexisting ones" (p 18).


Quiz #3 - Q&As

1. What is a codon?
In a gene, a series of three nucleotides that encode information that will be ultimately translated into an amino acid in a protein

2. What is translation?
The process in which proteins are synthesized according to RNA sequences carrying over infromation from the DNA

3. What is transcription?
The process in which information found in the DNA is passed onto an RNA molecule

4. What are the three domains in the tree of life?
Archea (Archebacteria), Bacteria (Eubacteria), and Eukaryota

5. What is a gene family?
A group of genes in a genome that descend (via gene duplication) from a single gene

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