Natural selection and genetic modification

• Archaea domain

  Organisms in this domain look similar to bacteria, but are different in terms of cell membrane, RNA polymerase, ribosomes, and their introns. Organisms are found in extreme environments.
• Autotroph

  Organisms that produce their own food using carbon dioxide, water, and light or other chemicals, also known as producers
• Bacteria domain

  Organisms in this domain have no nucleus, are unicellular, and have no introns, includes E. coli
• Binomial system

  Method of naming organisms using their genus and species, e.g. Homo sapiens
• Classification

  Process of organizing organisms into groups based on similarities and differences
• Darwin

  Scientist who developed the theory of evolution by natural selection. He published the famous book On the Origin of Species in 1859
• Domain classification

  Modern method of classification developed by Woese, uses RNA and DNA sequencing to put organisms into one of three groups: archaea, bacteria, or eukaryotes
• Eukaryota domain

  Organisms in this domain have a nucleus, include fungi, plants, animals, and Protoctista
• Evolution

  Change in a population of species over time
• Fossil

  The remains, traces, or impressions of a plant or animal that lived over 1,000 years ago, usually found in rocks. The deeper the rock, the older the organism
• Genome sequencing

  Technique used to determine the order of bases of DNA or RNA in an organism. This allows comparisons within and between species, used in domain classification to determine common ancestors and how related different organisms are
• Heterotroph

  Organisms that cannot produce their own food, so they have to feed on other organisms to obtain nutrition
• Kingdom classification

  rocess of grouping organisms together based on similarities and placing them into one of five groups. These groups are then subdivided into smaller groups with common features
• Natural selection

  Main process that brings about evolution, whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring, put forward by Darwin
• Pentadactyl limb

  A limb with five digits, has different functions in different organisms, provides evidence for evolution from a common ancestor
• Stratigraphy

  Study of rock layers in sedimentary rocks, where older rocks are found below younger rocks, used for dating stone tools and fossils found in rock layers and as evidence for human evolution
• Stone tools

  Tools made of stone that became more complex over time, used as evidence for human evolution
• Wallace

  Scientist who worked at the same time as Darwin, who independently came up with the idea of natural selection but thought it was by a different mechanism
• Selective Breeding Definition

  The process of breeding organisms with desirable traits to produce offspring with those traits.
• Reasons for Selective Breeding

  Increase crop yield.

  Improve disease resistance.

  Enhance desirable physical traits in animals (e.g., faster growth, more meat).
• Pros of selective breeding

  Improves food production and efficiency.

  Can produce organisms with specific beneficial traits.
• Cons of selective breeding

  Reduces genetic diversity.

  Can lead to health issues (e.g., inbreeding in animals).
• Recombinant Plasmid

  A plasmid that contains DNA from another species.
• Restriction Enzyme

  An enzyme that cuts DNA at a specific sequence, creating sticky ends.
• DNA Ligase

  An enzyme that joins DNA fragments together by reforming the phosphate and deoxyribose backbone.
• Sticky Ends

  Single-stranded DNA overhangs created by restriction enzyme cuts, allowing DNA fragments to be joined together.
• Plasmid

  A small, circular DNA molecule found in bacteria, used in genetic engineering.
• Transformation

  The process of a plasmid entering bacteria, allowing them to take up foreign DNA.