FINAL EXAM BIOLOGY 420.3.1 2000
ALL questions are to be answered in ESSAY FORMAT using diagrams where appropriate
to ENHANCE your answers
ANSWER QUESTION 1 (30%)
1. If it becomes too cold or too hot or wet, humans can turn up the
heating, or the air conditioner, or close all the doors and the windows, or
move to maintain a non-stressed living environment. To a lesser degree, other
animals can also modulate their environment or move. Due to their sessile nature,
plants cannot move away from harsh environments, they must tolerate, adapt or
die.
Give a GENERAL OVERVIEW of how plants are able to adapt to short term
and long term harsh environments. Describe how plants have evolved common means
for tolerating more than one type of stress?
Do not focus your answer on your own term paper topic.
Prepare your answer prior to the date of the exam – NOTES may be used in
the exam and they should be attached to your answer booklet
ANSWER ANY TWO QUESTIONS FROM QUESTIONS 2-5 (each question is worth 20%)
2. You have been asked to debate the statement: "Chloroplasts are
autonomous organelles". You may only take one side i.e., FOR or AGAINST
the statement. State clearly your point of view.
3. If you were a transposable element, why and how would you jump around your host genome and where would you go in order to propagate yourself? Remember that TE’s are very selfish entities.
4. Regulation of plant gene expression can occur at a variety of levels. Review the ways in which plants can regulate the production of an ACTIVE nuclear encoded cellular protein and an ACTIVE chloroplast encoded protein.
5. How and why does Agrobacterium transform plants? What other ways are available to researchers for transforming plants, especially the grasses?
ANSWER ANY TWO QUESTIONS FROM QUESTIONS 6-8 (each question is worth 15%)
6. Three "apetalous" mutants and corresponding genes were talked
about in the flower development section. Please discuss the similarities and
differences between these mutants/genes. Your answer should consider the mutant
phenotypes, gene function and gene expression. For each of the apetalous mutants,
describe how it interacts with at least one other gene to regulate flower development,
and describe the phenotype you would anticipate in a transgenic plant expressing
a Cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter fusion of each of the apetalous genes
(separately).
7. Describe, FOUR important structural domains of a typical CDK and describe their functional implications. Using one example, present evidence for the regulation of plant CDK activity by protein destruction.
8. In virtual reality, design a crop that is resistant to pathogen attack. Include passive and inducible defenses but remember that the plant still has to produce a high yield. Then state the type(s) of pathogen against which