Bio - C. Elegans
Kenneth Reynolds
C. Elegans Paper
April 20, 2013
Dr. Yong Xiang
C. Elegans – Wonderful Creatures of Science!
We have been studying genetics recently in BIO and I have realized that I actually do find genetics really interesting, because of its complexity and probability. The different combinations and variables make it very interesting to me, an avid risk take and gambler, because of the unknown. Genetics make – up a huge portion of how we act, interact with others, our appearance entails, etc. Because genetics is such an important component in life, we used c. elegans in lab class to discover how genes pass through our bodies accordingly. This so-called simplistic study edged us closer to finding out how our own bodies relate to the C. Elegans. First off, a c. elegan is a parasite that lives in the soil. Over time, this parasite has evolved into two groups: males and hermaphrodites. The difference between the two is that a male must reproduce with a hermaphrodite; however, a hermaphrodite can reproduce with a male or itself, since it contains both eggs and sperm to reproduce asexually. If a hermaphrodite reproduces asexually, it will produce a 100% hermaphrodite gender offspring. If a male and hermaphrodite reproduce, then there is a 50% chance it will be either a herm. or a male. All in all, it is more likely to find more hermaphrodites in a petri dish, like shown in class, because they can reproduce with themselves and don’t need to look for another person.
In the first petri dish, we discovered that there was a larger amount of hermaphrodites than males, which makes total since from the information said above. Below is a graph showing a male and a herm. cross-breeding.
XX | XO | XX | XO |
This indicates that the numbers of males will eventually deplete, since hermaphrodites can reproduce with themselves (100% offspring) and reproduce with males (50% offspring) meaning that the hermaphrodite offspring will outnumber the
C. Elegans Paper
April 20, 2013
Dr. Yong Xiang
C. Elegans – Wonderful Creatures of Science!
We have been studying genetics recently in BIO and I have realized that I actually do find genetics really interesting, because of its complexity and probability. The different combinations and variables make it very interesting to me, an avid risk take and gambler, because of the unknown. Genetics make – up a huge portion of how we act, interact with others, our appearance entails, etc. Because genetics is such an important component in life, we used c. elegans in lab class to discover how genes pass through our bodies accordingly. This so-called simplistic study edged us closer to finding out how our own bodies relate to the C. Elegans. First off, a c. elegan is a parasite that lives in the soil. Over time, this parasite has evolved into two groups: males and hermaphrodites. The difference between the two is that a male must reproduce with a hermaphrodite; however, a hermaphrodite can reproduce with a male or itself, since it contains both eggs and sperm to reproduce asexually. If a hermaphrodite reproduces asexually, it will produce a 100% hermaphrodite gender offspring. If a male and hermaphrodite reproduce, then there is a 50% chance it will be either a herm. or a male. All in all, it is more likely to find more hermaphrodites in a petri dish, like shown in class, because they can reproduce with themselves and don’t need to look for another person.
In the first petri dish, we discovered that there was a larger amount of hermaphrodites than males, which makes total since from the information said above. Below is a graph showing a male and a herm. cross-breeding.
XX | XO | XX | XO |
This indicates that the numbers of males will eventually deplete, since hermaphrodites can reproduce with themselves (100% offspring) and reproduce with males (50% offspring) meaning that the hermaphrodite offspring will outnumber the