Thursday 28th August, 2014

BIOLOGY NOTES
Diploid - contain two complete sets of chromosomes, one from each parent
(2n)

Haploid Haploid cells have half the number of chromosomes as diploid

cells (in other words, a haploid cell contains only one complete set of
chromosomes). Haploid cells can be expressed as n.

How does fertilisation restore the diploid number?

In fertilisation, an egg (with a haploid number) and a sperm (also with a
haploid number) combine together during fertilisation to restore the diploid
number.

How does meiosis and fertilisation contribute to variation in

offspring?
Mutation Causes spontaneous and random changes to the sequence of
bases in DNA. The consequences of mutation may be major or minor and
may act as an advantage or disadvantage to the organism.
Advantages: Antibiotic resistance in bacteria and immunity to HIV etc.
Disadvantages: Diseases including cancer and diabetes as well as genetic
disorders such as the addition or subtraction of an entire chromosome (e.g.
down syndrome)
Crossing-over In prophase 1, enzymes cut sections of chromosomes at
the same place and there is an exchange of genetic material between
homologous pairs.
Random re-assortment or Independent assortment In metaphase 1,
chromosomes line up in a random manner (many combinations). This results
in a mixture of maternal and paternal chromosomes in the daughter cells.
Random fertilisation Millions of sperm and hundreds of eggs are
produced in a lifetime. Eggs will be released at random in the reproductive
cycle and sperm are produced at random. Only one sperm and one egg will
be involved in fertilisation which again, results in variation of offspring.