Introduction to Sordaria Lab Report Essay Example

Introduction to Sordaria Lab Report Paper The lab experiment examined meiosis and genetic diversity through the model organism, Sardinia familial. Meiosis is part of the sexual life cycle and occurs in all sexually reproducing organisms. It is a method of cell division that produces gametes. Meiosis has two parts: meiosis I and meiosis II. Both parts undergo the same four stages of protease, metaphors, anapest, and Tallahassee. The process begins with one single parent diploid cell (that contain homologous chromosomes) that divides into four daughter haploid cells which each contain half the number of chromosomes that the original parent cell maintained. Both independent assortment and crossing over occur in meiosis I. Crossing over rearranges the DNA sequences that are then inherited and passed down to future offspring. This rearrangement, or recombination results in genetic variation within a species. The mechanisms controlling these crossover events are undefined. Recent existing evidence argues that harsh environmental pressures may lead to heritable changes in mechanisms controlling recombination. Much of this evidence has come from studies done at the Evolution Canyons in Israel. There are four Evolution Canyons, each of which consists of two mountain slopes with varying climates. Evolution Canyon I, located in Lower Inhale Orin, Mount Carmela, contains a south facing slope (SF) which experiences harsh climatic conditions, such as high temperatures and drought. The opposing north facing slope (NFG) is characterized by mild climatic conditions, including cooler temperatures and higher humidity. We will write a custom essay sample on Introduction to Sordaria Lab Report specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Introduction to Sordaria Lab Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Introduction to Sordaria Lab Report specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Evolution Canyon serves as a model for microinstruction and can be used to study how mutation and recombination contribute to adaptation and genetic diversity. The study published in the Genetics Journal and referred to in the logy laboratory manual studied whether there is a natural genetic variation for recombination frequencies and whether it correlates to environmental conditions and adaptation. The research was conducted on Evolution Canyon I and focused on the fungi organism, Sardinia familial. Several asexual filaments of S. Nicola were collected on different levels of each slope. The specimens were grown in the laboratory, where wild type spores from these crosses were then self-crossed to create a second generation of wild type spores. First, the filaments were grown on cornmeal agar with sodium acetate at 18 degrees and hen crosses were completed on minimal medium at 17. 5 degrees. Spontaneous spore color mutations appeared as non-black spores in the wild type strains. Also , the researchers plated the parenthetic (the fruiting body of the S. Nicola that contains acceptors) on growth medium containing sacrificial (a fungicide) and spontaneous sacrificial-resistant mutants formed. The strains were used to study varying mutation frequencies of wild type strains from the two different slopes on Evolution Canyon. Also, these strains were used to study the variations in crossover and gene conversion frequencies on the two opposing slopes. Their exults revealed that wild type strains from the SF experienced higher mutation rates than those strains obtained from the NFG. Although much less apparent, there were also slight differences in crossover frequencies within slopes. The results provide evidence that mechanisms controlling mutation and recombination may adapt heritable changes in response to the harsh climatic demands, particularly with the SF. Therefore, increased genetic diversity within a species may depend on the organisms environmental conditions. By understanding the factors controlling recombination, more can be known about genetic variation within a species.