Biology 2581B Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Ethyl Methanesulfonate, House Mouse, Nude Mouse
6 Mar 2017
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Early mutations were often produced morphological (shape) mutants, and were typically spontaneous in nature. Spontaneous mutations occurred very few, too slowly; thus problematic. Mutants other than morphological mutants were required: e. g. for biochemical pathways. Induced mutations had an increased frequency and produced a larger variety of mutation types. Arabidopsis # flower petals (wt:4 to a lot) Mus musculus brachyury mutation (=short tail: heterozygous - short tail, homozygous - lethal. Mus musculus nude mice lack thymus and cannot produce mature t cells: disruption of foxn1. Inducing mutants by ems: a popular mutagen used is ethyl methanesulfonate (ems), a type of alkylating agent. Introduces point mutations, in which gc base pairs transition to at base pairs. Easy to use because it is soluble and can be taken up by cells. Once exposed, you can start screening populations for mutants: assume 1 mutant for every 1000 individuals so if we have 2000 mice, 2 will be mutated.
