Summative Assessment Element 1 Element 1: Essay and Article (50%) Students will submit a 1,500 word essay comparing a key process of prokaryotic to eukaryotic cell biology. In addition, students...

1 answer below »
Summative Assessment
Element 1
Element 1: Essay and Article (50%)
Students will submit a 1,500 word essay comparing a key process of prokaryotic to eukaryotic cell biology. In addition, students should also produce a 500 word article summarising a key area relating to the essay title for a non-specialist audience. The submission of the Essay and Article should occur as a single Microsoft Word document.
Essay Title: Genes & Genomes in Prokaryotes & Eukaryotes
Deadline: 4th February 2013
Assessment 1:
Learning Outcomes
The essay comparing a key process of prokaryotic to eukaryotic cell biology will assess a student’s ability to demonstrate their knowledge of key cellular processes (LO1), advances in the theoretical and practical aspects of the discipline (LO6), evolution of these systems (LO3) and their ability to utilise the scientific literature (LO4). Both the essay and the article will be assessed on the student’s ability to produce an informed debate and communicate to a specialist and non-specialist audience
(LO5 & 8). (Learning Outcomes Assessed 1, 3, 4, 5 & 6, 8).
Article Guidelines
Write a 500 word article summarising a specific area relating to the Genes & Genomes in Prokaryotes & Eukaryotes. The article does not have to focus on the topics covered in your essay, but does need to focus on a topic or issue which would be of interest to the general public.
The article should be written in a style appropriate for a broadsheet newspaper (e.g. The Guardian or the Times), and hence a level at which a well educated person could understand. However, the article should be directed to lay individuals (i.e. individuals with no high level knowledge in a
scientific discipline) and therefore should endeavour to explain concepts fully and not be over reliant on technical terms. Consider using points of interest, such as the identity of the researchers, the locations the work is taking place and direct quotations, to engage the reader. You should
ensure the article is accompanied by a title which will be appealing and eye catching for the general public. Citations and references are not required, since the article is not a piece of academic writing.
Essay Structure
The essay must be written in clear and concise English, normally in the past tense, and should comprise:Title. The title should include topical keywords and allude to the interesting conclusions of the essay. A title that emphasizes the main conclusions, or poses a question, has more impact than one that just describes the nature of the study.
Summary. The essay must include a summary (abstract) of not more than 250 words. The summary must be clear and comprehensible in its own right. References should not be cited, and any abbreviations used must be defined. The summary should if possible introduce the subject in the first sentence and present the main conclusion in the last sentence: when someone is skimming
a block of text, the first and last sentences receive the most attention.
Introduction. You should provide a brief background to place your essay in the broader context of
microbiology as a whole. You should also provide an indication of the scope of the topics which will
be covered and the significance of these to the public.
Main Body of Text. The text should be divided into appropriate subheadings (unnumbered; the
term Main Body of Text should not be included as one of the subheadings)
Discussion. Should not be too long. Excessive discussion of few facts often gives an impression
of poor science. The discussion should provide a summary of the key findings. It may be helpful to
list the main conclusions at the end.
References. These should be academic books journal articles and reviews. Typically between 10-
15 references should be used.
Journal Articles & Reviews
It is a good idea to take a look at some of the journal articles & reviews published
in your discipline This will give you a feel for
• Writing style
• Referencing & Citation
• Presentation standards
• Layout
• Sections
• Figures/Tables
• Note you are mimicking the process not copying the content
Presentation of Tables & Figures
• In essays and literature based assignments tables and figures should not be exact reproductions of those which have already been published in the literature. You should attempt to compile tables and figures which draw on information present in multiple sources. As such figures should be selfgenerated using programmes such as Microsoft Powerpoint and imported into the Word document prior to submission.
• Tables and figures should be broadly comprehensible without reference to
the text. Both should be accompanied by a title and a legend if necessary. It is
not necessary to repeat detailed descriptions of methods. Table titles should
precede the table. The figure title should be placed below the figure.
• In tables the symbols * † ‡ § ¶ # should be used for footnotes, rather than
superscript letters or numbers. When results are expressed as percentages, the
absolute value(s) corresponding to 100% must be stated. Figures should be
referred to in text as Fig. 1(a) not FIG 1A, Figure 1(A), etc.; or as (Fig. 1a) not
(Figure 1A). Multipart figures should be labelled (a), (b), etc., not A, (A) or B,
(B)..

You are restricted to the use of one table


and one figure in the essay


Tables should be broadly comprehensible without reference to the text


Figures should be broadly comprehensible without reference to the text


Using Direct Quotes


• It is permissible to use direct quotes


• Direct quotes must be placed in quotation marks



• A citation and reference in the References must be provided.


• Direct quotes should not be used unnecessarily or over used– Over use of quotes shows you can identify key points but are not able to synthesise this information into a coherent



argument



• “The future of humanity and microbes likely will unfold as



episodes of a suspense thriller that could be titled Our Wits



Versus Their Genes” (Lederberg, 2000).


• Lederberg, J. (2000) Infectious history. Science 288, 287-293


Length Penalties


Written submissions should not exceed the maximum word limit (including the figure and table legends and any appendices, but not the summary or references) and/or more than the maximum



number of figures and tables. For submissions which exceed these limits, 5% will be deducted



for each breach of the conditions outlined below to reflect the monetary penalties placed on authors by scientific journals. The penalty will be 5% per 500 words or part thereof over maximum and 5% per figure or table over the maximum (You are restricted to the use of one table and one figure in the essay).


Penalties apply to both the essay and article i.e. an essay of 1501 words and an article of 501 words will have 10% deducted



Scientific Essay Guidelines


References. These should be academic books journal articles and reviews. Typically between 10-15 references should be used. All sources of information must be referenced and cited according to the



School of Science & Engineering guidance provided in the appendix of the module handbook or at the following site



http://lis.tees.ac.uk/referencing/sse_new.pdf.



Biological Species Names. These should be italicised and presented in



full at first mention (i.e. Escherichia coli) and abbreviated according to



scientific convention (i.e. E. coli; see Module Handbook Appendix for



further details).


Abbreviations, Units & other details: Abbreviations should be defined at



first mention in both the summary and main text (see Module Handbook



Appendix for further details).


Recommended & Preferred sources:


Use web sites sparingly and generally focus on publically funded organisations.


Do not use or cite lecture notes. Find an alternative


Journals


Annual Reviews of



Microbiology*


Nature


Trends in Microbiology*


Current Opinion in



Microbiology*


Microbiology & Molecular



Biology Reviews*


FEMS Microbiological



Reviews*


*Journals available electronically


Health Protection Agency



(http://www.hpa.org.uk/default.htm )


World Health Organisation



(http://www.who.int/en/)


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention



(http://www.cdc.gov/)


National Institute for Allergy and Infectious



Diseases (http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/)



Genomes Online (http://genomesonline.org/).


The National Center for Biotechnology



Information http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/


Society for General Microbiology



http://www.socgenmicrobiol.org.uk/


Microbe World

http://www.microbeworld.org/


The Process


• Plan a structure & key



themes (mind map)


• Identify multiple sources


• Make notes & record sources


• Align notes with themes


• Produce a draft on the basis



of your notes


• Review & Edit


• Submit


• Start Early


• Use a thesaurus


• Use a biology dictionary


• Use tools such as



RefWorks (see Library



Workshops)


• Use Turnitin


Genes, Genomes & Genomics


• Gene


– The basic unit of inheritance, by which hereditary characteristics



are transmitted from parent to offspring. At the molecular level a



single gene consists of DNA which exerts its influence on the



organism’s form & function by encoding & directing the synthesis



of a protein, tRNA, rRNA or other structural RNA.


• Genome


– The complete DNA sequence of an organism, consisting of gene encoding DNA sequences & non-encoding DNA sequences


• Genomics


– Discipline of sequencing, mapping, analyzing, and comparing



Genomes


Task


• Each team should take 5 minutes to jot down points



of comparison in relation to the themes


– Genome Location


– Genome Architecture


– Genome Size



– Gene Number



– Gene Structure


– Gene Expression



• Each team should present their comparisons to the



tutorial group


Further Reading


• Alberts, B., Bray, D., Lewis, J., Raff M., Roberts K. & Walter, P. (2008) Molecular



Biology of the Cell 5th Edition. Garland Publishing, London [Chapter 1]


• Bendich, A.J. & Drlica, K. (2000) Prokaryotic an eukaryotic chromosomes: what’s



the difference? BioEssays 22 (5), 481-486


• Lane, N. & Martin, W. (2010) the energetics of genome complexity. Nature 467,



929-934


• Madigan, M.T., Dunlap, P.V., Martinko, J.M. & Clark, D.P. (2009) Biology of



Microorganisms 12


th


Edition, Prentice Hall International (UK) London [Chapter 1



& 2]


• Pace, N.R. (2006)Time for a change. Nature 441, 289



• Pallen, M.J. (2010) Time to recognise that mitochondria are bacteria. Trends in



Microbiology doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2010.11.001


• Pennisi, E. (2010) Shining a light on the genome’s ‘dark matter’. Science 330,


1614
Answered Same DayDec 22, 2021

Answer To: Summative Assessment Element 1 Element 1: Essay and Article (50%) Students will submit a 1,500 word...

Robert answered on Dec 22 2021
133 Votes
Genomic mystery and Therapeutical miracles
Abstract
According to recent evolutionary ideas, organisms might be categorized as; prokaryotes
and eukaryotes. Though, there could be found numerous evidences on the biological relationship
between these groups, yet the panoramic view of the biological universe is the substantial
differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes such as; size, packaging, and functional
characteristics. This art
icle deals with fundamental genetic variations between prokaryotes and
eukaryotes that can prove to be valuable in advancement of novel therapeutic procedures based
on analysis of impacts of abnormal genes on functional abilities of organisms. In a nutshell,
genome sequences; the enclosed sets of information which can direct biological advancement
and function, lie at the heart of genomics which is a vital and organized discipline of biomedical
research.
Introduction
The biological world has been designed by an enormous array of simple and complex
creatures, and in accordance with recent evolutionary ideas, these life forms can be placed into
two groups: prokaryotes and eukaryotes. It is renowned that organisms might be divided into
these categories (prokaryotes and eukaryotes) according to absence or presence of membrane-
bound organelles respectively, but this is not the whole scenario as; several significant variations
may also lie in the structure and organization of their genetic material.
This article presents such basic dissimilarities which might be termed significant in
advancement of our awareness regarding genetic procedures that can prove to be precious in
development of remedies against life-threatening disorders.
Packaging of Genome
Fundamental genetic properties of prokaryotes can be identified with the help of
Escherichia coli (E. coli), a bacterium that could be found in human colon and is often used as a
model prokaryote since; maximum information regarding the prokaryotic genome’s structural as
well as functional characteristics could be derived with the assistance of this microbe. In fact, the
bacterium was selected as a model organism by a group of scientists who applied phase-contrast
microscopy and autoradiography to illustrate that the necessary genes of E.coli are encoded on a
single circular chromosome (circular structure also reflects absence of telomere unlike
eukaryotes in which telomere protects the end of a linear chromosome) that can be found within
the cell nucleoid (area of a prokaryotic cell in which genetic material could be located) in
packaged form since; its size is several folds larger in comparison to the size of host cell. Though
in eukaryotes, such packaging can be carried out with the help of both histones proteins and
super-coiling, but in prokaryotes, it can be done by super coiling primarily since; in these
organisms, histone proteins are absent (except species present in domain Archaea).
Super coiling
Super coiling can be of two types: positive and negative. In positive super
coiling, DNA is twisted in the same direction as the double helix, and in negative super coiling,
twisting of DNA occurs into opposite direction.
This pattern of super coiling is exhibited by most of the bacterial genomes during their
normal growth, and can involve multiple types of proteins which can work in the folding and
thus; condensation of prokaryotic DNA in a coordinated manner for instance; HU protein that is
renowned as; most abundant protein present in the nucleoid performs this task with an enzyme
known as; topoisomerase I. These both biomolecules bind with DNA and introduce sharp bends
in chromosome to create essential tension required for the purpose of negative super coiling.
Besides, according to recent researches, other proteins like Integration Host Factor (IHF) may
also reflect affinity with the precise sequences present in a genome, might bind with them, and
can establish supplementary bends.
Now, thus obtained folded DNA can further be organized into various types of
conformations which may bind with tetramers of HU protein similar to eukaryotic chromosomes
that can enclose histones. After the condensation of prokaryotic genome, super coiling can be
maintained with the help of DNA topoisomerase I, DNA gyrase and other proteins like; H-NS
that perform a significant role in transcription by transforming the expression of genes engaged
in the reaction against environmental stimulus. In spite of H-NS, another maintenance protein...
SOLUTION.PDF

Answer To This Question Is Available To Download

Related Questions & Answers

More Questions »

Submit New Assignment

Copy and Paste Your Assignment Here