8.3 Using genome projects

• Define ‘genome’ and ‘proteome’

  Genome - The complete set of genes in a cell

  Proteome - The full range of proteins that a cell can produce (coded for by the cell’s DNA / genome)
• What is genome sequencing and why is it important?

  • Identifying the DNA base sequence of an organism’s genome
  • So amino acid sequences of proteins that derive from an organism’s genetic code can be determined

  Sequencing projects have read the genomes of a range of organisms, including humans
• Explain how determining the genome of a pathogen could allow vaccines to be developed

  • Could identify the pathogen’s proteome
  • So could identify potential antigens (proteins that stimulate an immune response) to use in the vaccine
• Suggest some other potential applications of genome sequencing projects

  • Identification of genes / alleles associated with genetic diseases / cancers
  • New targeted drugs / gene therapy can be developed
  • Can screen patients, allowing early prevention / personalised medicine
  • Identification of species and evolutionary relationships
• Explain why the genome cannot be directly translated into the proteome in complex organisms

  • Presence of non-coding DNA (eg. introns within genes do not code for polypeptides)
  • Presence of regulatory genes (which regulate expression of other genes, eg. by coding for miRNA)
• Describe how sequencing methods are changing

  • They have become automated (so are faster, more cost-effective and can be done on a larger scale)
  • They are continuously updated
• suggest and explain how a virus would be able to infect other species

  • mutation in viral DNA
  • altered viral attachment protein
  • allows virus to bind to receptors of other species
• explain why a transcription factor can bind to DNA

  • transcription factor has a specific tertiary structure
  • transcription factor is complementary to DNA