A friend who works in a research lab performed a GWAS and discovered a tight association between a SNP allele and the disease she is studying. She concluded that the SNP allele must be the mutation that causes the disease. Explain why she is likely to be wrong.

The DNA profiles used as evidence in a murder trial look something like supermarket bar codes. The pattern of bars in a DNA profile shows

a. The order of bases in a particular gene.

b. The presence of various-sized fragments of DNA.

c. The presence of dominant or recessive alleles for particular traits.

d. The order of genes along particular chromosomes.

A paleontologist has recovered a bit of tissue from the 400-year-old preserved skin of an extinct dodo (a bird). To compare a specific region of the DNA from a sample with DNA from living birds, which of the following would be most useful for increasing the amount of dodo DNA available for testing?

a. SNP analysis

b. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

c. Electroporation

d. Gel electrophoresis

Which of the following is not part of the procedure used to make a DNA profile?

a. Short tandem repeat sequences are amplified by PCR.

b. DNA is placed in a gel and subjected to an electric current.

c. The genes that encode DNA sequence are cloned into bacteria.

d. DNA from blood, semen, vaginal fluids, or hair root cells can be used for analysis.

Revolutionaries executed Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia, along with his wife and five children, the family physician, and about a dozen servants. Many decades later, a grave said to hold the remains of the royal family was discovered. Biologists were asked to analyze DNA from the bodies. If the remains of the family were in this grave, predict how similar the DNA fingerprints would be between the parents, the children, and the unrelated individuals in the grave.