DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, MANIPAL INSTIUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

ASSIGNMENT NO.3 JAN-MAY EVEN 2015

BIOLOGY FOR ENGINEERS

1.
Collection of data for a family
tree has shown that a particular trait
is represented in a family pedigree
as follows:
a)
On the basis of this data,
which of the following mechanisms
of inheritance for the trait are
POSSIBLE? Autosomal dominant,
autosomal recessive, sex-linked
dominant, sex-linked recessive, Ylinked.
b) Does this chart point towards two possible modes of inheritance?
c) What is the genotype of female A and male B?
d) What is the probability that a child from marriage C will show this trait?
2. A group of scientists replicated the method used by Meselson and Stahl experiment to
determine
the
mode
of
replication
of
a
certain
bacterium species. The course of
change in medium was as
follows: (1) a heavy density
label, [15N] NH4Cl (Many
generations) followed by (2)
normal density [14N] NH4Cl.
Results after DNA extraction in
CsCl is depicted in the figure
alongside. What is the mode of
replication according to the
results? Explain with reasons.

3. In E. coli, the replication fork moves at a rate of 60,000 nucleotides per min. Calculate the
number of forks required to replicate the genome in 2/3rd of an hour? (E. coli genome 4.64
106 bp)
4. There are two separate DNA fragments, Fragment A is 1000 bp long and Fragment B is 1
cm long. Both fragments A and B contains 20% adenine each. Determine the number of
cytosine bases in fragment A and B.

5. Suppose that E.coli synthesizes DNA at a rate of 100kb (1000bp-1kb) nucleotides per
minute and takes 40 minutes to replicate its chromosome .
a. How many bp are present in the entire E.coli chromosome.

b. What is the physical length of the chromosome in its helical configurationthat is what
is the circumference of the chromosome if it were opened into a circle.( write the length in
mm)
6. DNA synthesis generally occurs in 5 to 3 direction, where 3-OH is the growing end.
Design a hypothetical mechanism for DNA synthesis by reversing this directional nature
of DNA synthesis. State the problem with such a mechanism.
7. Avery Experiment and Herschey & Chase experiment proved that DNA is the hereditary
genetic material .If RNA or protein were the universal genetic material , how would it
have affected the:
a) Avery experiment and
b) Herschey and Chase experiment.
8. What result would Meselson and Stahl have obtained if the replication of DNA were
conservative? Give the expected distribution of DNA molecules after 1 and 2 generations
for conservative replication. Give the values in terms of percentage of 15N 15N, 14N-14N
and the hybrid 15N14N observed in each of the generation. Also sketch the conservative
replication till the second generation.
9. Thomas Hunt Morgan wanted to analyze the behavior of two alleles of a fruit y eye-color
gene. In crosses similar to those done by Mendel with pea plants, Morgan and his
colleagues mated a wild-type (red-eyed) female with a mutant white-eyed male. Morgan
then bred an F1 red-eyed female to an F1 red-eyed male to produce the F2 generation.
Suppose this eye-color gene were located on an autosome. Predict the phenotypes
(including gender) of the F2 ies in this hypothetical cross.
10. A batch of students, working on pedigree analysis, comes up with data for a particular
family for the inheritance of a certain disease starting from the first generation. The
students have committed a mistake and missed out on the data of the spouses after the first
generation.

Analyze the chart and answer the following questions:

a) What is the most likely mode of inheritance of the disease? Give reasons.
b) Construct a pedigree chart with all the possible probabilities for the spouses from
the second generation.
c) Give the genotypes of the two individuals in the first generation.
d) Give the genotype of the individual 2 from the second generation.
e) Whether the children of the individuals 4 and 5 from the third generation are likely
to have the disease? Give reasons.
f) What is the genotype of the wife of individual 2 from second generation?
g) What would be the genotypes of the family starting from the third individual of the
second generation, assuming that the inheritance pattern for the disease is of an
autosomal recessive type? State genotype of all the spouses as well.
11. Below is the picture of single origin replication of eukaryotic cell. DNA and RNA
polymerization occur from 5 to 3 direction.
(i): With respect to the
vertical line, in which
direction(s) does replication
proceed? (Choose from
Right, Left or Both)
(ii): On the right hand side
of the vertical line, which strand will be the template for the leading strand during DNA
replication (Choose from Top or Bottom)
(iii): On the left hand side of the vertical line, the complete replication of which template
strand (top or bottom) will be more affected by a mutation that causes DNA ligase to be
partially functional? Explain why?

12. In Drosophila melanogaster, the genes for purple eyes (pr) and curved wings (c) are on the
same chromosome. The recombination frequency between pr and c is roughly 20%. Both
the purple eyed and curly winged phenotypes are recessive to the wild-type (+) phenotypes
(red-eyed and straight winged, respectively). Consider a cross between a female with
genotype (+ c)/(pr +) and a male (pr c)/(pr c). Based on the information above, predict the
number of offspring of each phenotype from this cross, assuming 100 offspring produced
from this cross.