OVERVIEW
As cells respond to environmental cues, they make decisions about which proteins to
make at specific times, locations, and quantities. As you might recall this is very
important during embryogenesis and development more generally and is conserved
across species to some degree- see this EVO DEVO music video
(Links to an external site.)
to understand the theories surrounding this (evolutionary and developmental biology).
Most importantly living organisms need to make decisions about permanent versus
transient changes. In the early part of the course we introduced the concept of
epigenetics as a means for cells to turn off whole regions of genetic information that
may not be needed for a specific cell type, or cell stage (embryonic versus adult
versions of proteins); if you want a review of that see the last section of Chapter 11 in
Cummings. Cells can also regulate gene expression daily in response to all kinds of
cues and in reversible and dynamic ways.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Recognize how changes in gene expression can play a role in phenotypic
plasticity and in evolution of species.
2. Provide an example of how dynamic and malleable cells and organisms can
be during their lifetime based on environmental cues.
3. Differentiate between positive and negative feedback loops for gene
expression changes that involve cell signaling.
4. Explain how one gene can code for many proteins and that tissue and
species specific mRNA splicing allows the genome to be more complex and
responsive to micro environmental cues.
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
1. How do cells decide which genes to turn on and off to make specific
proteins… what are the molecular players involved?
2. How can environmental molecules fiddle with this process; environmental
toxins, diet, stress etc.?
3. Think back to the cell structures and their functions- how is cell signaling
involved ?
4. How can we control gene regulation? What role does the micro and
macroenvironment play?
REQUIRED RESOURCES ( 30 minutes of video/ animation/ interactive, 40 minutes
of PPT and 5 pages of reading)
1. Textbook Chapter: HH: Chapter 9: Gene Expression . Link
2. Download Link
3. ONLY 208-211 and Chapter 11 235-236-Ecogenetics.
4. PPT15_Protein Activation_Lac_GeneEx_RNA_2022.pptx
Prompts for Journal 10
This journal will address content and learning as well as your affect and anything else
you want to share
1. DYNAMICS:
○ How is your understanding of phenotypic plasticity shifting?
○ Does plasticity look different at the gene expression level versus
the protein activation level?
2. COMPLEXITY
○ Reflect back on your learning, are you leafing back to earlier notes
to make more sense of them?
○ Are you able to hold all the information together or is it feeling
messy?
○ How can we work to solidify the connections?
3. LEARNING:
○ Are there any new learning strategies that are you employing?
4. IMPACT: What are you concerns about this course in particular as we
approach the end of the semester ?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Recognize how changes in gene expression can play a role in phenotypic
plasticity and in evolution of species.
2. Provide an example of how dynamic and malleable cells and organisms
can be during their lifetime based on environmental cues.
3. Differentiate between positive and negative feedback loops for gene
expression changes that involve cell signaling.
4. Explain how one gene can code for many proteins and that tissue and
species specific mRNA splicing allows the genome to be more complex and
responsive to micro environmental cues.
https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Polygenic-Trait
Pleiotropy