Sordaria Fimicola And Genetic Diversity
Sordaria fimicola and Genetic Diversity
23 October 2013
Sordaria fimicola and Crossover Frequencies in relation to Evolution Canyon
Introduction
Evolution Canyon is an important natural phenomenon, which is widely studied for its benefit in helping recreate evolution in a short period of time. It helps us visualize evolution, a process that takes place in the span of millions of years, because the animals on the canyon go through “evolution” in a very short, examinable time. There are two types of slopes, the NorthFacing Slope and the South-Facing Slope, and the primary difference between the two is that the
South-Facing Slope has a much harsher environment than the North-Facing Slope. The evolution that takes place on the Evolution Canyon is through meiosis and recombination/crossover between chromosomes. Meiosis is a process involved in reproduction of Eukaryotic organisms which is unique because it gives rise to genetic diversity through a mechanism known as recombination. Recombination is the process of the exchanging genetic material between two chromosomes. This gives rise to genetic material that is not identical to its parent or any other daughter cell. In studies conducted by scientists on Evolution Canyon, it was found that the recombination for the organism was occurring much more frequently on the South-Facing slope than the North-Facing slope
The organism that was primarily studied was the Sordaria fimicola, an Ascomycota fungus that can be easily used to see the genetic diversity and recombinant frequency due to its spore combinations. There are three types of spore carriers (asci), which come about depending on what chromosomes recombine and what happens to the spore cell. Each ascus holds 8 spores within itself. Type A asci has 4:4 combination, meaning 4 spore cells are tan type and the other 4 are gray type. This occurs when no recombination is taking place. Type B is 2:4:2 where recombination occurs between the second and the fourth chromosome.
23 October 2013
Sordaria fimicola and Crossover Frequencies in relation to Evolution Canyon
Introduction
Evolution Canyon is an important natural phenomenon, which is widely studied for its benefit in helping recreate evolution in a short period of time. It helps us visualize evolution, a process that takes place in the span of millions of years, because the animals on the canyon go through “evolution” in a very short, examinable time. There are two types of slopes, the NorthFacing Slope and the South-Facing Slope, and the primary difference between the two is that the
South-Facing Slope has a much harsher environment than the North-Facing Slope. The evolution that takes place on the Evolution Canyon is through meiosis and recombination/crossover between chromosomes. Meiosis is a process involved in reproduction of Eukaryotic organisms which is unique because it gives rise to genetic diversity through a mechanism known as recombination. Recombination is the process of the exchanging genetic material between two chromosomes. This gives rise to genetic material that is not identical to its parent or any other daughter cell. In studies conducted by scientists on Evolution Canyon, it was found that the recombination for the organism was occurring much more frequently on the South-Facing slope than the North-Facing slope
The organism that was primarily studied was the Sordaria fimicola, an Ascomycota fungus that can be easily used to see the genetic diversity and recombinant frequency due to its spore combinations. There are three types of spore carriers (asci), which come about depending on what chromosomes recombine and what happens to the spore cell. Each ascus holds 8 spores within itself. Type A asci has 4:4 combination, meaning 4 spore cells are tan type and the other 4 are gray type. This occurs when no recombination is taking place. Type B is 2:4:2 where recombination occurs between the second and the fourth chromosome.