Biology, Eighth Edition (Raven)

Chapter 24: Genome Evolution

Learning Outcomes

• Know what the term genome means and what it means to science to have elucidated a complete genome of a species.
• Understand why researchers have honed in on conserved DNA sequences between other vertebrates and humans.
• Describe why even though mice and humans share 99% of their genes, there are so many differences between the species.
• Know how chromosomal rearrangement can lead to the evolution of new species.
• Understand the mechanism of how an herbicide, which is used to kill weeds, might be used to kill the protist, Plasmodium.
• Be able to explain the new field of biology known as comparative genomics.
• List and give an example of the six different ways in which a genome can change over time.
• Distinguish between ortholog, paralog, and a pseudogene.
• Compare horizontal gene transfer with lateral gene transfer.
• Be able to provide a plausible explanation of why humans have more transposons than Drosophila, even though Drosophila have been around for hundreds of millions of years longer than humans.
• Understand how convergent evolution works when different genes are recruited in different species. Give an example.