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Modern Genetic Analysis Answers to Selected Problems
Chapter 1*

3. | DNA determines all the specific attributes of a species (shape, size, form, behavioral characteristics, biochemical processes, and so forth) and sets the limits for possible variation that is environmentally induced. See question

4. | Properties of DNA that are vital to its being the hereditary molecule are: its ability to replicate; its informational content; and its relative stability while still retaining the ability to change or mutate. Alien life-forms might utilize RNA, just as some viruses do, as a hereditary molecule. However, of the types of molecules that can exist on Earth, only the nucleic acids possess the necessary characteristics. See question

7. | The formula genotype + environment = phenotype is both accurate and inaccurate simultaneously. Although phenotype is a product of the genotype and the environment, there is also an inherent variation due to random noise. Given complete information regarding both genotype and the environment, it is still impossible to specify the phenotype completely, although a close approximation can be achieved. See question

9. | The goals of genetic dissection are to understand the functioning of all the genes that affect a specific trait, to know the DNA sequence of each gene, and to understand the regulation during development of each of the genes. See question

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