Video Transcript
Fill in the blank. One of the benefits of the Human
Genome Project is the identification of blank genes. (A) Disease-causing, (B) noncoding,
(C) mobile, (D) recessive.
This question is asking us about
the Human Genome Project. So what is this exactly? Before answering this, let’s remind
ourselves what a genome is.
Our cells contain a lot of DNA. In fact, if you were to take the
DNA out of a single cell and unravel it, it would be about two meters in length. The total amount of genetic
material in our cells is what we call a genome. This two meters of DNA isn’t one
long, continuous molecule of DNA. Instead, it’s organized into 46
individual structures called chromosomes. Here’s what one of these
chromosomes might look like.
Each chromosome is a highly
packaged molecule of DNA that’s coiled up and wrapped around special proteins called
histones. You’ll recall that DNA is made up
of repeating subunits called nucleotides. And each nucleotide contains a
nitrogenous base that can be either guanine, cytosine, adenine, or thymine. Nitrogenous bases can form base
pairs with each other.
Contained within this DNA are
genes. Genes contain instructions for
producing some type of functional unit, for instance, a protein. The order of bases in DNA
determines the sequence of DNA.
The Human Genome Project was a
worldwide project that started in the 1990s and took about 15 years to complete. It had multiple aims. One of the major aims was to
sequence all the bases in our genome. From this, we found out that we
have over three billion base pairs in our genome. Another aim of the Human Genome
Project was to identify all the genes in the human genome. From this, we found that we have
over 20,000 genes in our genome. The work of the Human Genome
Project has been very helpful in understanding the genetic role of different
diseases and has allowed us to identify new disease-causing genes.
Therefore, getting back to our
question, the option that correctly fills in the blank in the statement “One of the
benefits of the Human Genome Project is the identification of blank genes” is given
by answer choice (A), disease-causing.
