Decoding the genetics of Language”

Post has three assignments

A complex series of face and mouth movements are necessary for speaking fluently. In a threegeneration pedigree of a British family (known as KE Family) half of the family members have difficulties with grammar, comprehension and speech- termed speech language disorder. The underlying disorder is termed “Childhood Apraxia”, a result of the failure to co-ordinate muscle movements of mouth and face that are needed for speech. It is an autosomal dominant disorder with affected individuals being heterozygous for the gene in question. Q1. Based on the information above how many copies of a mutated gene will an individual need to inherit to confer the trait? [1pt] In 2001, geneticists identified the cause of the inherited speech deficit in members of this family and attributed it to a mutation within a single gene FOXP2. (Cecilia S. L. Lai, Simon E. Fisher, Jane A. Hurst, Faraneh Vargha-Khadem and Anthony P. Monaco; Nature 413, 519-523(4 October 2001) This was exciting news as no ‘gene’ had ever been associated with a complex trait such as language. Turns out, FOXP2 is a transcription factor belonging to the winged helix transcription factor family characterized by a highly conserved Forkhead (Fox) domain that binds to distinct DNA sequences in its target gene’s regulatory regions. The mutation within the affected members of the family lies in a single point mutation such that G-A transition changes the amino acid from R553H (R at the 553 position to H) affecting it’s ability to bind to DNA. Q2. FOXP2 is expressed (the protein is found) in many tissues, during development including parts of the brain, the lung, the gut and the heart. Yet, members of the KE family only seem to show deficits confined to regions of the brain implicated in speech development that manifests as speech apraxia. L211 Homework 4 Spring 2016 2 TOt Give one possible explanation for why that may be keeping in mind the nature of the inheritance [2pts] Q3. A lot more research has been done on FOXP2, including the amazing finding that FOXP2 is not unique to humans. In fact, the gene evolved early and is found in a diverse array of animal species- birds, bats and bees. The human FOXP2 differs from our closest relatives the chimpanzees, gorillas and rhesus macaques by just 2 amino acids and from that found in mice by only 3 amino acids! What this tells us is that through evolution a few amino acids (only 2 infact) provided some advantage to the way language evolved and possibly the difference between the ‘uniquely human’ ability of complex language and the rest of the animal kingdom. [1 pts] Based on this information alone which of the following makes sense: A. If a mouse FoxP2 gene is removed, the mouse might “talk.” B. Feeding mice the three amino acids that differ between human and mouse might enable the mice to “talk.” C. Replacing the mutated human FOXP2 gene with a mouse FoxP2 gene is a way to cure speech disorders. D. Putting the human version of FOXP2 gene into a mouse might enable it to form more complex sounds similar to human language L211 Homework 4 Spring 2016 3 TOt Q4. Clearly genetically mutations in FOXP2 lead to problems with speech in the KE family. Researchers are interested in understanding how? Some insight can be gained into this question by learning more about what the normal function of FOXP2 is. Describe an experiment you would do to attempt to answer the question : “ What genes are regulated by FOXP2 in the brain” [4pts] Assume you have all the possible cell lines you need. L211 Homework 4 Spring 2016 4 TOt Part II Developmental Patterning in Drosophila Expression of the Even-skipped (Eve) gene in early Drosophila embryos is under the control of several transcription regulators. In one example, one of the Eve stripes is positioned near the anterior region of the embryo, and its regulatory module contains binding sites for Bicoid and Hunchback (activators) as well as Giant and Krüppel (inhibitors) such that the gene is expressed only in the region where concentrations of the two activators are high and the concentrations of the two inhibitors are low. A reporter gene can be placed under the control of this module, and it can be shown to form a stripe in the same place in the embryo as the corresponding stripe of Eve. Answer the following question(s) based on these findings. Q1. In the following schematic diagrams of an early Drosophila embryo, in which region would you expect to find the reporter protein put under the control of the regulatory module mentioned above? 1pt Circle or write the correct region number: Bicoid 1 Hunchback Giant Krüppel 2 3 4 5 6 7 L211 Homework 4 Spring 2016 5 TOt Q2. What would you expect to happen to the pattern of reporter expression in flies that lack the gene encoding Giant? [2] A. It would be expressed in all seven stripes. B. It would be expressed in stripe 5 only. C. It would expand to cover a broad anterior region of the embryo. D. It would fail to express efficiently in the stripe 2 region. E. It would be expressed throughout the whole embryo. Q3. What would you expect to happen to the pattern of reporter expression in flies that lack the gene encoding Bicoid? [2] A. It would be expressed in all seven stripes. B. It would be expressed in stripe 5 only. C. It would expand to cover a broad anterior region of the embryo. D. It would fail to express efficiently in the stripe 2 region. E. It would be expressed throughout the whole embryo. PART III Revision [1 pt each] 1. Which of the following organisms has a circular chromosome and therefore does not require DNA telomerase to finish chromosome replication? A. Bacteria B. Yeast C. Drosophila D. Mouse 2. The base “uracil” combines with a sugar and three phosphates to form uridine 5’- triphosphate. Which sugar is incorporated into UTP? A. 2’-deoxypentose B. 2’-deoxyribose C. 3’-deoxyribose D. ribose 3. Which of the following elements controls the spatial (where) and temporal (when) expression pattern of an individual gene? A. Enhancer B. Core promoter C. 5` and 3` UTRs D. Intron 4. Which of the following choices is NOT required for DNA synthesis to occur in vitro? A. ADP B. nucleotides L211 Homework 4 Spring 2016 6 TOt C. DNA template D. DNA polymerase 5. Different types of RNA are known to function in the cell. Which of the following choices is an adaptor molecule that links the template (that encodes the protein) to the growing polypeptide chain? A. mRNA B. tRNA C. rRNA D. none of the above are adaptor molecules 6. Upon which of the following choices can DNA polymerase use to start replicating DNA? A. an RNA:DNA primer:template junction B. a DNA:DNA primer:template junction C. single-stranded DNA D. a. or b. 7. What would be the sequence of the partner strand of DNA shown below. (The strand that makes up the other half to make a dsDNA helix) Write your sequence in the 5’-3’ orientation here: ________________________________ P a r t n e r s t r a n d L211 Homework 4 Spring 2016 7 TOt 8. Which of the following characteristics of DNA-dependent DNA synthesis is not the same for DNA-dependent RNA synthesis? A. Synthesis requires a template. B. Initiation involves the recognition of a specific DNA sequence. C. Initiation of synthesis requires a primer. D. Synthesis is catalyzed in the 5′ to 3′ direction. E. All of the choices given are the same for both DNA and RNA synthesis. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate scientific terminology: [0.5 per blank] The instructions specified by the DNA will ultimately specify the sequence of proteins. This process involves DNA, made up of [number] ___________________different nucleotides, which gets ___________________________ into RNA, which is then ________________________into proteins, made up of [number] _______________ different amino acids. In eukaryotic cells, DNA gets made into RNA in the _________________, while proteins are produced from RNA in the _________________. The segment of DNA called a ______________________ is the portion that is copied into RNA; this process is catalyzed by __________________________.

2: Education savings plan

You deposited $160,000 into an education savings plan, hoping to have $420,000 available 12 years later

You deposited $160,000 into an education savings plan, hoping to have $420,000 available 12 years later when your first child starts university. However, you did not invest very well, and two years later, the account’s balance has dropped to $140,000. Let us look at what you need to do to get the savings plan back on track.
a. What was the original annual rate of return needed to reach your goal when you started the fund two years ago?
b. With only $140,000 in the fund and 10 years remaining until your first child starts university, what annual rate of return would the fund have to make for you to reach your $420,000 goal if you add nothing to the account?
c. Shocked by your experience of the past two years, you feel the education savings fund has invested too much in shares, and you want a low-risk fund in order to ensure you have the necessary $420,000 in 10 years. You are willing to make end-of-the-month deposits to the fund as well. You find you can get a fund that promises to pay a guaranteed annual return of 6% that is compounded monthly. You decide to transfer the $140,000 to this new fund and make the necessary monthly deposits. How large a monthly deposit must you make into this new fund each month to obtain the $420,000 required at the end of 10 years? (6 marks)
d. After seeing how large the monthly deposit would be (in part (c) of this question), you decide to invest the $140,000 today and $500 at the end of each month for the next 10 years into a fund comprising 50% shares and 50% bonds and hope for the best. What Annual Percentage Rate (APR) would the fund have to earn in order to reach your $420,000 goal?
3:Cost management

Cost management: short-term vs. long-term) Flatland Metals Co. produces steel products for a variety of customers. One division of the company is Residential Products Division, created in the late 1940s. Since that time, this division’s principal products
has been continuously profitable since 1950, and in 1996, it generated profits of $10 million on sales of $300 million. However, over the past ten years, growth in the division has been slow; profitability has become stagnant, and few new products have been developed, although the garage door components market has matured. The president of the company, John Stamp, has asked his senior staff to evaluate the operations of the Residential Products Division and to make recommendations for changes that would improve its operations. The staff uncovered the following facts:
•Tracinda Green, age 53, has been president of the division for the past fifteen years.
•Green receives a compensation package that includes a salary of $175,000 annually plus a cash bonus based on achievement of the budgeted level of annual profit.
•Growth in sales in the residential metal products industry has averaged 12 percent annually over the past decade. Most of the growth has occurred in ornamental products used in residential privacy fencing.
•Nationally, the division’s market share in the overall residential metal products industry has dropped from 12 percent to 7 percent during the past ten years and has dropped from 40 percent to 25 percent for garage door components.
•The division maintains its own information systems. The systems in use today are mostly the same systems that were in place fifteen years ago; however, some of the manual systems have been computerized (e.g., payroll, accounts payable, accounting).
•The division has no customer service department. A small sales staff solicits and takes orders by phone from national distribution chains.
•The major intra-division communication tool is the annual operating budget. No formal statements have been prepared in the division regarding strategies, mission, values, goals and objectives, or identifying core competencies.Given the introductory paragraphs and the facts from the staff of the company’s president, identify the major problems in the Residential Products Division and develop recommendations to address the problems you have identified

cost management