The Best Genes for the Job!

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The Best Genes for the Job!

• Kate and Michael

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How did you get to be the way you are today?
Think about why you are the height you areor why
your favorite foods are your favorite
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How did you get to be the way you are today?

• Environment

Genes
Images wikimedia.org, healthparley.com
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Nature vs. Nurture

• Q What is more important in determining your
  physical and behavioral traits, nature (genes) or
  nurture (environment)?

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Nature vs. Nurture

• A Both
• Genes and the environment both play an important
  role and often interact with each other

Images neihs.nih.gov
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Genotype-Environment Interaction (GxE)

• A GxE is when genes and the environment interact
  with each other to determine how a trait is
  expressed

• The same genes in different environments may not
  result in the same phenotype

Images gatech.edu
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Maze-Running Ability in Rats

• Two different genotypes were created bright and
  dull
• Bright rats do better at running a maze than
  dull rats
• BUTthis difference in ability disappears if the
  rats are raised in a more social environment with
  lots of objects to explore
• The bright genes only outperform the dull genes
  in certain environments

Cooper and Zubek 1958
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Plant Height and Altitude

• Seven different yarrow plant genotypes were all
  grown at low, medium, and high elevations
• No single genotype grew the best at all
  elevations.
• Altitude influenced plant height, but not in the
  same way for all genotypes

Clausen et al. 1948
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Sickle cell anemia

• Autosomal recessive disease
• Carriers have symptoms when deprived of oxygen or
  dehydrated

Images wikimedia.org, abbotlab.wordpress.com
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Sickle cell anemia

• Adaptive advantage the heterozygote (carrier) is
  resistant to malaria
• Carriers still have some defective hemoglobin,
  which the parasite cannot digest
• SCA persists in areas where malaria is present

historical distribution of Malaria
distribution of the sickle-cell trait
Images wikimedia.org
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MAOA and Antisocial behavior

• The amount of MAOA enzymes can influence violence
  and antisocial behavior in humans
• Low levels of MAOA increases the risk of
  antisocial behavior in adultsBUTonly when they
  were raised in an abusive environment

Caspi et al. 2002
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The best genes for the job!

• You are all birds. There are two different
  genotypes for beak shape (spoons and tweezers)

Images igourment.com, photohome.com,
neillosin.com, webstaurantstore.com,
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The best genes for the job!

• Your goal is to eat as much as possible by
  picking up beans with your beak
• There are two different environments to feed in

Images webstaurantstore.com, igourmet.com,
foodsubs.com
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The best genes for the job!

• Which genotype is best?

Images powernet.co.uk, 9bar-espresso.com,
happyfolding.com
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An additional experiment

• Big bluestem

Little bluestem
Images podepauw.edu, nps.gov
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An additional experiment
Big bluestem
Little bluestem

• Can reach 10 ft. in height
• Prefers deep fertile soil

• Usually 3 ft. in height
• Do well in gravel, sandy soil

LaGory et al. 1982, wildflower.org