Biologists have sequenced the genomes of many organisms - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 17 - 2008 - Paper 1
Question 17
Biologists have sequenced the genomes of many organisms. The number of genes found in organisms varies greatly. Some examples are listed in the table below.
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Worked Solution & Example Answer:Biologists have sequenced the genomes of many organisms - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 17 - 2008 - Paper 1
Step 1
A. larger organisms have larger genomes.
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Answer
This statement is generally true as seen in the data. For instance, the size of the Psilotum nudum genome is significantly larger than that of Escherichia coli. However, the correlation is not absolute, as there are exceptions.
Step 2
B. puffer fish show greater genetic variety than E. coli.
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The data indicates that the puffer fish has a larger number of genes (38,000) compared to E. coli (3,000). This suggests greater genetic variety.
Step 3
C. a nematode and flowering mustard plant have the same number of chromosomes.
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There isn't enough information provided in the table to draw a conclusion about the number of chromosomes for these organisms.
Step 4
D. the larger the genome of an organism, the greater the number of proteins it produces.
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This statement may seem reasonable, but it doesn't necessarily hold true based on the data, as seen in the case of Mus musculus and Homo sapiens, which have a similar number of genes despite different genome sizes.
