Homework Assignment - The Science of Genetics
100 points
You probably have never eaten Arabidopsis thaliana nor kept Drosophila melanogaster as a pet. But these two species are extensively studied and are very valuable as tools to study genes and gene expression in plants and animals. These two species are called "model" species. Your assignment is to choose one of these two species and write a 200-250 word essay that describes the features that make it an important species in basic research. (Graduate students: your paper must be 300-400 words.) First provide a definition of a "model species" and discuss why they are important for basic research. For the species you choose, describe features such as its life cycle, the important features of the structure of its genome, the principle approach for genetic analysis, and basic technique used to transform it with foreign DNA. Finally, provide a summary of the sequencing project for the species that describes features of the genome including an estimate of the number of genes in its genome.
Possible Resources:
- Textbook
- Class WWW Notes
- Arabidopsis and Drosophila genome project WWW sites
- Published articles
- Other class students
Note: You must use complete sentences for your essay. If you use a table, it must be referenced in the essay itself. Your reference list must use one consistent format. Proper references for WWW pages must include author, title, URL and date visited.
Paper Format
- Single space within a paragraph
- Double-spaced between paragraphs
- All magins 1"
- Title 1" from top of first page
- 11pt Arial or 12 pt Times Roman font
- Laser printed quality