The ecologists

used a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay to investigate the abundance of the novel

organism in several different ecological niches including hydrothermal vents,

deep-sea sediments and shallow coastal waters. The qPCR assay was performed

using a primer that specifically targeted a gene

carried by the novel organism.

Examine the

qPCR results shown above. Which ecological niche (hydrothermal vents, deep-sea

sediments, shallow coastal waters) had the highest abundance of the novel

organism? Briefly explain how you reached this conclusion. (2-3 sentences) (2

marks)

The ACTC1

gene encodes an actin protein that is only expressed in cardiomyocytes (i.e.

cardiac muscle cells). The schematic below shows the histone modifications that

are present in the

Use the

information provided above to explain why the

The ACTB

gene encodes an actin protein that is ubiquitously expressed in all human

cells. As shown in the schematic below, the promoter region of the

The researcher

uses a specialised laboratory technique to examine DNA methylation in the

The ACTC1

gene encodes an actin protein that is only expressed in cardiomyocytes (i.e.

cardiac muscle cells). The schematic below shows the histone modifications that

are present in the

Use the

information provided above to explain why the

The ACTB

gene encodes an actin protein that is ubiquitously expressed in all human

cells. As shown in the schematic below, the promoter region of the

The researcher

uses a specialised laboratory technique to examine DNA methylation in the

To study

the processing of

i) Which type of alternative splicing event generated mRNA Transcript B? Provide a brief justification for your response. (1-2 sentences) (1 mark)

ii) Which type of alternative splicing event generated mRNA Transcript C? Provide a brief justification for your response. (1-2 sentences) (1 mark)

To determine which aspect of carbon catabolism was impacted by

mutagenesis in each of these strains, the strains were also assayed for carbon

catabolism of glucose, xylose and arabinose and sent for genetic sequencing. 

The randomly generated mutants were then

screened for ethanol production. Strains were cultured in media containing

glucose, xylose and arabinose to reflect the composition of agricultural

biomass. The bacterial strains were cultured for a period of fifteen hours and

samples of media were collected at regular timepoints (0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15

hours) to track the production of ethanol.

A graph of ethanol production in the PET #A

strain and 2 mutant strains; PET #X, and PET #Y are shown below.

Which strain produced the most ethanol at 15

hours?

The researcher treated PET #A E. coli

with the base analogue

2-Aminopurine which is structurally similar to a nitrogenous base found in DNA.

The structure of 2-Aminopurine is shown below: