SUPER CROP 

In this project we were a farmer that has been hired by a private food supply company to create the best crop possible for them to sell. We had to create the crop that is most beneficial for a food supply company to sell using our knowledge of genetics and heredity. We were not allowed to use GMO’s because of their controversy and we needed to be able to explain why the supply company should use our crop instead of the farmer’s crop next door. We had the option of 9 parent genotypes to choose from to pass on two of the three traits we found important. We had three generations of crop growing to create the best probability of having the strongest crop. We created Punnett squares to back up our choices. Here were the genotypes: 

Drought resistant is a recessive allele (R,r)

Pest resistant is dominant allele (A,a)

Frost resistant is recessive allele (F,f)

We chose to have drought and frost resistance. Giving the crop these traits would  give it the best chance of survival because it would be able to survive harsh winters and hot summers. You can always add pesticides to the crop but you cannot make it fight the cold or dry weather. This is more important in California which has gone through many droughts in recent years. Therefore the drought and frost are the two traits that can’t be helped by humans and only nature affects them compared to the pest trait which is something that is able to be altered by humans. This makes the pest trait the best to leave out and this is why we chose to use drought and frost resistant crops which gives the best chance of survival and is the most beneficial. 

To get these traits we had to start the parent generation with the mother being heterozygous for both and father being homozygous recessive in order to get as many homozygous recessive offspring as possible in the next generation. We then took two homozygous recessive offspring and crossed them to make sure we got 100% of the traits we wanted in the last generation. This is what made ours the best choice for the private food supply company.

MURDER MYSTERY

During this project, my group and I were attempting at solving a murder mystery by using finger printing, analyzing ink, using blood samples, and comparing DNA. The story was how one day Carleton Comet held a picnic to celebrate his release from jail and a new name. The guests he invited were Nancy Normal, Sam Sophomore, Theresa Terra, Fred Flimmer, and Glen Glee. At 7:35pm, Carleton Comet was stabbed with a steak knife; at 8:00pm, he was pronounced dead by the police. 

We received a fingerprint found at the crime scene as evidence that matched to Nancy Normal. The second thing we got was a written note reading, "You are a dead man." The last piece of evidence we received was the two blood samples found on the murder weapon,  one matched the victim, Carleton Comet in both type and in the DNA contained. In the end once all the data was collected, we discovered that Nancy Normal was the killer. 

Content: 

Gene: DNA that codes for a specific trait

Allele: a variation of a gene

Chromosome: a place where all genetic information is stored in a safe way

Central Dogma: the process where protein is synthesized - DNA - mRNA - Protein

Phenotype: how the traits are expressed 

Genotype: the genetic makeup of traits - alleles

Homozygous: when the genotype has the same alleles  

Heterozygous: when the genotype has different alleles  

Dominant: the trait will always be expressed if present  

Recessive: the trait needs to be homozygous to be expressed  

Co-Dominant: one trait is not dominant over the other so phenotype is both

ex. AB blood type  

Incomplete Dominant: when neither trait is dominant so the phenotype is a mixture of both

ex. Pink flowers

DNA: Physical "code" of all functions and traits of your body

Trait Expression: The process of DNA sequences showing as physical traits through Protein Synthesis

Karyotype: An image showing all of an organism's chromosomes organized based on number

Pedigree: the recorded ancestry, especially upper-class ancestry, of a person or family

Allergen: A substance that causes the body to react hypersensitivity to it

Clone: An identical copy of an individual organism, a cell, or a gene, or the totality of all the identical copies made from an individual organism, a cell, or a gene. In genetics, the clone implies identical in genetic make-up to the original

Gene cloning: The technique of making many copies of a gene, isolating the gene and identifying it

Gene therapy: Treating diseases by replacing the defective gene, either by incorporating a normal copy of the gene in the germ-cells (egg or sperm) or in the embryo (germline gene replacement therapy), or by supplying copies of the normal gene to be taken up and incorporated into cells of the adult (somatic cell gene replacement therapy)

Genetic engineering: The manipulation of genetic material in the laboratory. It includes isolating, copying, and multiplying genes, recombining genes or DNA from different species, and transferring genes from one species to another, bypassing the reproductive process

Genetically modified organism (GMO):  An organism which has foreign DNA inserted into its genome by means of genetic modification in the laboratory

Mutagen: A substance or agent that causes genetic mutations, or chemical alteration of the genetic material, DNA

Stem cells: Cells that have the potential to multiply indefinitely and become many different cell types

Content Links to Work and Outside: 

Gene: For the project the genes were important to show the parts of DNA and how gene therapy can affect them. For other subject areas genes are important to human survival and make up a big part of what goes on in the human body.

Allele: For the project we had to choose the best alleles in the super crop project. For other subject areas all traits that you have are the alleles that are expressed. 

Chromosome: For the project chromosomes were important to understand where the genetic info we were doing was stored. For other subject areas chromosomes are also important to human survival and make up a big part of what goes on in the human body.

Central Dogma: In the project mutagens that can be created can happen during this process. For other subject areas this process happens all the time for humans and that is how DNA is changed and proteins are formed in the body.

Phenotype: For the project it was the traits we were trying to express. For other subject areas phenotypes are all the things that you have that are seen by the human eye. 

Genotype: This is what sets up the phenotypes and is important to what gets passed down in each generation like the Super Crop project. For other subject areas this is what sets up each phenotype that all people have.  

Homozygous: For the project it was important to know what this was to know what to pass down in Super Crop. For other subjects it is important to the makeup of genotypes and the effect they have on the physical trait. 

Heterozygous: For the project it was important to know what this was to know what to pass down in Super Crop. For other subjects it is important to the makeup of genotypes and the effect they have on the physical trait. 

Dominant: For the project it was important to know what this was to know what to pass down in Super Crop. For other subjects it is important to the makeup of genotypes and the effect they have on the physical trait. 

Recessive: For the project it was important to know what this was to know what to pass down in Super Crop. For other subjects it is important to the makeup of genotypes and the effect they have on the physical trait. 

Co-Dominant: For the project it changes how the physical traits are expressed when we look at them. Some traits you have are altered based on the type of dominance. 

Incomplete Dominant: For the project it changes how the physical traits are expressed when we look at them. Some traits you have are altered based on the type of dominance

DNA: For the project it was important because that was what we could see what was changed in genetic engineering. DNA is important for human life. 

Trait Expression: We had to choose the expression for Super Crop. Trait expression is what we can see from each person in day to day life. 

Karyotype: We used it to decide Nancy Normal was the killer in the murder mystery project. It is important to what each person has in their life when it comes to chromosomes. 

Pedigree: We used it to decide Nancy Normal was the killer in the murder mystery project. It shows family history and can help in forensics.

Allergen: We used an allergen during our lab. Allergens affect humans when it comes to effects on them such as allergies from things such as pollen.  

Genetic engineering: We used genetic engineering in our lab. In other subjects it can be used to modify genes in labs and research. 

Genetically modified organism (GMO): We used the lab to look at GMOs. In other subject areas GMOS are now being researched and attempted more and more. 

Reflection

2 Things That Went Well

I feel like during these projects I worked well on my Collaboration and Conscientious Learning. For collaboration I did good on cooperating within my team and really working hard. Our productivity and attitude was just right and we got through our projects easily with little to no errors. My conscientious learning was on point as well because I had set goals from the beginning of our project and made sure to reach that goal by the deadline. Everything was turned-in and submitted on time with all the work shown.  

2 Things That Need Improvement

During these projects I could have worked better on my Communication and Critical Thinking.  For my communication I should work on talking things over better with my group and openly discussing problems we may have. I could speak up more and see where everyone's heads are at. With critical thinking I should try harder at justifying my data and really looking deeper into what it all means, instead of just jotting down that answer I could stop and think about it a little more. This way I'll get a better understanding of my work and I will learn more through it.