Genetics

Hello This is my first post here and I'm looking to get some perspective on my thoughts. I only undestand basics in this field so when I started thinking more about I knew I had to get expert help. My case revolves around the breeding of species, especially when breeding special traits in animals.For example you might breed a dog species to be really big. The tactic is to find a male and a female that are big so their offspring will be big as well. I started wondering why the offspring could however get bigger then it's parents. Let's assume the trait is based on 1 gene and let's give it a value, with bigger values meaning bigger animals ( I know it's not simp…

Hi, I am researching my family tree at the moment and would like to ask a couple of questions. We believe Mr A is the father of Mrs B with a child Mr C. We know that Mr A had a son with another woman Mrs M, lets call the son Mr X, whol also had a son Mr Y. This would make Mr C and Mr Y half cousins. Is there any way of establishing a family connection using DNA testing? Mrs B and Mr C have black hair and light brown eyes. Mr C is 5'9 and Mrs B is 5'0. Their skin pigmentation is also mediterranean looking. We believed they were of Italian ancestors. However Mr A we know at 50+ had brown hair, brown eyes but white skin and apparently didn't look Italian (a…

If I remember correctly one definition of Species is that if it can mate and have a fertile offspring it's the same species. The fertile part is because some species can breed which almost always results in a sterile offspring. What is it the makes a species able to breed with another? Do the still share so many common genes involving breeding while others have changed more? Is there something specific Gene-wise that controls when they can. Why do the offspring become sterile? What are some species that can breed. I remember Mule and Liger and some where the species are more similiar then most breeds of dogs ( wolfs/coyotes, polar bear/grizzly) What are the mo…

Hi people...i wrote a new post regarding on how to isolate or extract dna from ur own cells in ur own kitchen.. You can read my post on this topic right here by logging into http://globaltutor.blogspot.com/2009/12/how-to-extract-dna-of-cells-of-fruit-by.html You also can check my other posts related to genetics.. to view my genetics posts just login into http://globaltutor.blogspot.com/search/label/Genetics Hope u find them useful..! Have a nice day..

Hi, I want to analyse DNA sequence data (mtDNA) in R as in calculate Fst, Heterozygosity and such summary statistics. Package Adagenet converts the DNA sequence into retaining only retaining the polymorphic sites and then calcuates Fst.. but is there any other way to do this? I mean analyse the DNA sequence as it is.. and calculate the statistics? Thanks!

As I understand it, these things combine with the targeted mRNA then degrade, so that the RNA is not available for translation. My question is what is to stop more RNA from taking its place? I don't know much about the subject, sorry...I learnt about it as part of an interdisciplinary module.

I'm hoping people will be willing to share their experiences on using yeast two hybrid libraries. There are a variety of options (e.g. commercial libraries, make your own, use libraries from another lab) and I'm wondering, as someone quite new to yeast two hybrid, what are some common pitfalls and things to avoid as well as where people have had success. If possible, please detail how the library was constructed, RNA source, complexity, etc.

Would it be possible to to genetically alter any animals size? Like some companies do with the size of fruits and vegetables. Are there any companies trying this? I'm really curious, so far I haven't found anything.

Interesting article I found: "The kleptomaniac sea slug Elysia chlorotica feeds on algae by sucking out the innards of filaments. The slug takes in the little algal organelles for photosynthesizing and, researchers now say, can also manufacture the compound, chlorophyll." http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/53496/title/Sea_slug_steals_genes_for_greens%2C_makes_chlorophyll_like_a_plant

Hi, Well things are going well with my project and I think I'm getting the hang of NCBI. However there is one little concern which is still niggling at me. Firstly I should explain that I am blasting genomic DNA from Nasonia vitripennis and Apis mellifera in order to find similarities between two gene sequences. However, when I look at the genomic DNA of one of the genes (NM_001013359) in the gene record it describes it as "complement", whilst the other sequence (NM_001161675) does not have the word "complement" next to the genomic DNA record. So here is my question - can I enter the FASTA sequences of these two stretches of genomic DNA into the "align 2 or more …

Hi, i need help in understanding what syntenic relationship means between species. for example if we take the mouse gene A on chromosome 5 and a equivalent gene in human B located on chromosome 16. if they have a syntenic relationship, does that mean that human gene B was previously located on human chromosome 5 and through chromosomal rearrangement became located on chromosome 16, or does it mean that similar genes are likely to be found flanking the B gene in humans and the A gene in mouse???????

Is the Microbial DNA and Microbial cells that live in our bodies unique to Humans? Do we share many of the same species with others groups of species?

Hi. I was just wondering if anybody knew, is there some kind of limit on the possible number of genes that can make up an organism. My understanding is poor, but there are about 25,000 or so making up the human genome I think? Is there any kind of physical reason that there would be a limit on this for other organisms? And if there is an upper limit, what is it? Thanks.

Hello everybody, I registered because I don't Know an appropriate journal for publishing microsatellites for insects by using next generation sequencing. I know the journals "Conservation Genetics Res." and "Molecular Ecology Res." but the paper does not really fit in this journals. I would be glad, if anybody has an idea about an appropriate journal. Best wishes, Kasul

I was just wondering whether anyone could explain what causes Heterochromia? I've recently started listening to Rise Against, and their singer has one brown eye and one blue. I don't know if this is the right forum, but I was hoping someone could furnish me with an explanation of the genetics behind it. Thanks in advance!

Hello all I was asked today by a pupil how close we are to being able to genetically engineer a new species? I said "a long way" to put off any other questions but he did make me wonder... the little swine! So in my best inner London school boy accent... "Sir, Aow close is science geezers to making a hole nu animal like?" Any help will be greatly appreciated by me and met with a non-interested blank gaze by him no doubt!

I've decided to enter the field of Genetics and Molecular Biology. I was wondering before the school year what would be some good References and/or Texts for Genetics. I am reading DNA Science: A First Course by David A Micklos... Where should I go from here? I have not read anything in Biochemistry yet and just finished Advanced Organic Chemistry. I've also been reading Introduction to Protein Structure by Carl Branden. This I think helps me understand geometry of molecules better, which I've been incorporating into my understanding of DNA structure. Any tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. -Lukas Klees

I just wanted to know what your opinions are on this. I am a light skinned latina with medium brown eyes. My whole family; mom, brother, grandpa, grandma, aunts, and uncles are all light complected except for two who have more of a tan complexion. They all have/had either medium brown, hazel or blue eyes. My father was also light complected with hazel/green eyes. According to my mom his family were also light (I never met them). Now my husband is white, mostly German but according to his father, his grandmother (husband's) had native American in her (could be half) I realize many Americans claim Native American ancestry but my father in law says that he is positive th…

Is It Genetically Possible For A Child's Skin Color To Be Darker Then Its Parents Skin Color. Their Was An Article In The Washinton Post That Stated A Child's Skin Color Could Not Be Darker Than It's Parents. It Could Be Lighter But Not Darker. True Or False.

Hi, Could I just check with someone if I have got this right please? My definition of a flanking region of a gene is the region x bp upstream from the start codon and the equivalent downstream from the stop codon? For the current gene I am looking at I am using about 500bp as my flanking region as it seemed a sensible figure (1,000 bp upstream is the end of another gene so I didn't want to go into that) but is there an official way to identify a flanking region or would my estimate be appropriate? I am BLASTING these regions to try and identify similarity. Thanks so much! Caz

How do scientists disable a gene in mice? If they are disabling a gene in one cell, how does that affect the entire organism? Also, is the genome for a mammal present in each cell? Or is the genome all of an organism's DNA in each cell.. does this mean there's 3 billion base pairs in each cell?

Hiya, I am currently BLASTING genomic data in FASTA format between species to try and identify a conserved locus. I have obtained quite a good list of BLAST results, but what I am specifically looking for are matches in the flanking regions of the gene to make sure they are a product of the same locus. I have been looking into this for a week or so and my progress is...slow to say the least! I can blast the gene which specific mRNA of interest is derived from (I am using genomic DNA), and of course once I obtain a result I can see where the matches are in the nucleotide sequences. I am just really stuck at identifying where in the piece of genomic DNA I'm looking…

What do you think this image is showing? Is this image showing cellular development and differentiation, with emphasis placed on developing eyes on drosophilia legs? Image title: Dpp-GAL4/UAS-eyeless source: http://www.ozdros.com/html/drosophila.html

Someone told me that evolution would show that the amount of genes would have changed the farther we go back, and that no one had proved it. Do genes change in size or amount the farther we go back? And if so, is there proof of this, or is it an indirect observation? I know that they occasionally mutate, but his point was the size changes.

How long can DNA survive off of a pet? Whether it be shed fur or fur clipped from the animal?