Deck 4: Genetic Control of Cell Function and Inheritance

Question 1

How could a health care professional most accurately explain an aspect of the underlying structure of DNA to a colleague who is unfamiliar with genetics?

A) "DNA consists of nucleotides plus one of the four nitrogenous bases."
B) "In the base pairs, adenine combines with thymine and guanine with cytosine."
C) "Thymine and cytosine are considered the purine bases."
D) "The backbone of a DNA molecule consists of either deoxyribose or phosphoric acid."

Answer 1

"In the base pairs, adenine combines with thymine and guanine with cytosine."

Question 2

A student is trying to understand the possible reasons that a genetic abnormality might exist in an individual. Which of the following reasons is most plausible?

A) DNA has combined with several types of protein and a small amount of RNA.
B) Histones have exerted control on the folding of DNA strands.
C) DNA has blocked genetic transcription by preventing access of nucleotides to the DNA surface.
D) Chromatin has maintained its stable structure during the DNA replication process.

Answer 2

Chromatin has maintained its stable structure during the DNA replication process.

Question 3

A 45-year-old client who experienced exposure to radiation during an industrial accident several years prior is being assessed. Which of the following phenomena may underlie the genetic changes that have been noted in the client?

A) Base pairs may have been rearranged by the radiation in the accident.
B) Endonucleases may have influenced the DNA structure following exposure.
C) Two paired bases may have exchanged helical position after the accident.
D) The radiation may have produced a redundant or degenerate genetic code.

Answer 3

Base pairs may have been rearranged by the radiation in the accident.

Question 4

A researcher is involved in the investigation of an individual's genetic abnormality. Which of the following situations could the researcher most likely rule out as the genetic cause of a mutation?

A) Loss of a cytosine-guanine base pair
B) Formation of an adenine-uracil base pair
C) Substitution of an adenine-thymine base pair for a cytosine-guanine base pair
D) Insertion of an extra adenine-thymine base pair

Question 5

In the context of an explanation of how human growth occurs, a student is explaining to a colleague the necessity and roles of different types of RNA in protein synthesis. Which of the following types of RNA is a result of the process of transcription?

A) Ribosomal RNA
B) Messenger RNA
C) Translation RNA
D) Transfer RNA

Question 6

A 31-year-old male has been newly diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson disease. As the nurse is educating the patient and family, they ask how this happened so early in his life. The nurse will base the response on which of the following statements listed below?

A) "No one really knows why some patients get this diagnosis in their 30s, while others are in their 50s before they begin to have symptoms."
B) "Sometimes exposure to too much ultraviolet radiation causes changes in your gene sequencing and therefore mutations occur."
C) "Disruption in some proteins called molecular chaperones causes intracellular molecules to become denatured and insoluble leading to clumping and the development of inclusion bodies."
D) "Gene repression is a process by which a regulatory gene acts to reduce or prevent gene expression, thereby confusing the negative feedback mechanisms that could prevent disease formation."

Question 7

While discussing embryogenesis to a group of students moving through the maternity ward, the nurse quizzes them to see if they know what is happening during sonic hedgehog signaling. Which of the following answers would be considered accurate? Select all that apply.

A) Development of the eyes
B) Separation of the brain into two cerebral hemispheres
C) A carrier system for delivering the appropriate amino acids to the ribosomes
D) Development of the correct number of fingers and toes
E) Bone formation leading to macrocephaly

Question 8

A physician is working with a family whose daughter has been recently diagnosed with the chromosomal disorder Turner syndrome. The physician would recognize that which of the following statements about the characteristics of human chromosomes is accurate?

A) Individual variations are attributable to differences in appearance in autosomes.
B) Chromosomes undergo variations during each episode of cell division.
C) Autosomes contain the determination of an individual's sex.
D) Each of the 22 pairs of autosomes has a homolog.

Question 9

A man and woman are eager to determine the sex of their unborn child and have asked the nurse at the fertility clinic how this is possible at an early stage of in vitro development. Which of the nurse's responses best captures the genetic rationale for early sex identification through tissue samples?

A) "The inactive X chromosome can be visible in a female."
B) "The cells of a male contain a Barr body that can be visualized."
C) "A normal female lacks Barr bodies."
D) "The number of visible Y chromosomes indicates the sex."

Question 10

A health care researcher has identified the gene of interest in a particular genetic disorder as well as the gene's location Xq97. Where would one find a gene named Xq97?

A) Band q, region 97 of the Y chromosome
B) Band 7, region 9 of the short arm of the X chromosome
C) Band 9, region 7 of the long arm of the X chromosome
D) Band 9, region 7 of the short arm of the Y chromosome

Question 11

A child possesses a trait that is the result of the interaction of two different genes, neither of which could have produced the trait independently. Which of the following explanations best captures the genetic explanation for this?

A) The trait is an expression of multiple alleles.
B) Epistasis has dictated the phenotypic outcome.
C) The phenomenon is an example of polygenic inheritance.
D) The outcome is the result of the interaction between collaborative genes.

Question 12

A health care professional works in a context where there are a large number of clients who live with genetic disorders. Which of the following circumstances would most likely involve an individual who has a genetic disorder?

A) The primordial germ cells of both of the individual's parents have undergone meiosis.
B) Two chromosomes of the same number have been inherited from one parent.
C) The individual possesses 22 pairs of autosomes.
D) The individual's karyotype indicates separate X and Y chromosomes at chromosome 23.

Question 13

Mary is heterozygous for blue eyes, a recessive trait. John is homozygous for brown eyes, a dominant trait. What color eyes will their four children have?

A) Brown
B) Blue
C) Some will have blue, and some will have brown
D) Impossible to tell

Question 14

Knowing that persons with blonde hair exhibit the phenotype of a recessive gene, which of the following genetic scenarios would most likely underlie such a trait?

A) aa
B) A heterozygous pairing
C) Either AA or Aa
D) Different alleles at a gene locus

Question 15

A group of researchers have identified that the prevalence of two particular genetic disorders shares a statistical correlation. Which of the following statements best conveys the genetic rationale for this situation?

A) There is likely a cause-and-effect relationship between the two genes responsible.
B) The chromosomes containing each gene are likely closely situated.
C) The genes causing each disorder are likely in the same section of the same chromosome.
D) The disorders likely share the same locus.

Question 16

When educating the parents of an infant diagnosed with hemochromatosis, the nurse should consider which of the following topics a priority for the parents to know?

A) Provide a restricted iron diet to prevent organ damage
B) How to check their infants' stools for blood
C) Where to look for lesion development on the skin
D) How to assess an infant for blood loss and anemia

Question 17

A student is explaining to her colleague the different methods that are available for genetic mapping. Which one of the colleague's following statements indicates a need for further teaching?

A) "I know that linkage studies are rooted in the exchange of genes that occurs during meiosis."
B) "Gene dosage studies involve the measurement of enzyme activity as a reflection of genetic activity."
C) "If hybrid cells were stable, somatic cell hybridization would not be viable."
D) "In situ hybridization focuses on genes that can express themselves in cell culture."

Question 18

A researcher is involved in the production of insulin through recombinant DNA technology. Which of the following statements could the researcher best provide as a rationale for her work?

A) The gene fragment responsible for insulin production can be isolated and reproduced.
B) Particular bacteria are capable of insulin production.
C) It is possible to reproduce the chromosome responsible for insulin production.
D) Recombination of DNA base pairs can result in a gene that will produce insulin.

Question 19

Which of the following patients are receiving treatment that has been developed utilizing recombinant DNA techniques? Select all that apply.

A) Patient undergoing detection of gene location by chemically tagging DNA or RNA sequences
B) Mother undergoing amniocentesis to diagnose a congenital adrenal hyperplasia
C) End-stage renal disease patient receiving erythropoietin to stimulate RBC production
D) Stroke victim receiving tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) to dissolve the thrombi
E) Couple going to an infertility clinic for diagnostic testing

Question 20

While the nurse is educating a fellow nurse about some new research being developed to treat hepatitis C, specifically to identify disease-related drug targets on the cells, the nurse will be basing these data on which new technology finding?

A) Recombinant DNA technology
B) Haplotype mapping
C) The human genome project
D) Interference RNA (RNAi)