Pass it On

Who's got the Blueprints!?

Before a house is built, plans for the house must be drawn up. Detailed blueprints tell the builder exactly how big each piece of wood in the house will be, where the electrical outlets will go, etc. The builder could even use the same set of blueprints to construct many identical houses!

WE got the Blueprints!

• Every organism requires a set of blueprints, to specify what traits the organism will develop.

• The blueprints for an organism are found in the chromosomes of its cells.

• When organisms reproduce these blueprints are passed on to the new organism.

Decoding the Blueprints

The chromosomes of cells are composed of a molecule called DNA.

The structure of our DNA molecules are modeled by a twisted ladder called a double helix.

The rungs of the double helix are comprised of nucleotide base pairs (A+T, C+G).
- The order of these base pairs provide instruction on the production of proteins that make up the organism.

​

Rungs on the ladder

A gene is a segment of DNA that carries the instructions for making a specific protein or set of proteins. These proteins play crucial roles in the body's structure, function, and regulation.
- Genes determine various traits and characteristics, such as eye color, hair color, and height.

​- Genes are located on chromosomes.

Genes

- Thread-like structures that are found in the nucleus of cells.

- Each chromosome is made up of protein and a single DNA molecule.
- Comes in matching sets of two.
- Human cells contain 46 chromosomes or 23 pairs.
- Half of which come from one parent and the other half from the other.
- A pair of genes or many pairs of genes will determine a trait or characteristic of the organism.

Chromosomes

• Offspring are Identical clones of the parent.

• The offspring has the same DNA as the parent.

• The offspring receives genes from one parent.

The process used for asexual reproduction is mitosis.

Benefits:

-Quick

-Reproduction can happen without a mate.

Disadvantage:

-Lack of genetic diversity.

Sexual reproduction involves gametes (example: sperm and egg)

The process used to make the gametes for sexual reproduction is meiosis.

Benefits

• Genetic diversity

• Diversity supports survival of the species.

Disadvantage

• High use of energy and time