Animal Evolutionary Developmental Genetics MCQs

1. What does the field of evolutionary developmental genetics study?
A) The evolution of genetic mutations
B) The genetic basis of developmental processes in animals
C) The inheritance of acquired traits
D) The genetics of population ecology
Answer: B) The genetic basis of developmental processes in animals

2. Which famous biologist proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection?
A) Charles Darwin
B) Gregor Mendel
C) Alfred Russel Wallace
D) Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Answer: A) Charles Darwin

3. Which term refers to the study of the formation and development of organisms?
A) Evolutionary biology
B) Developmental biology
C) Molecular genetics
D) Comparative anatomy
Answer: B) Developmental biology

4. What is the term for the study of the expression of genes across different developmental stages?
A) Developmental genetics
B) Transcriptomics
C) Genomics
D) Epigenetics
Answer: A) Developmental genetics

5. Which of the following is NOT a key model organism commonly used in developmental genetics research?
A) Drosophila melanogaster
B) Caenorhabditis elegans
C) Arabidopsis thaliana
D) Streptococcus pyogenes
Answer: D) Streptococcus pyogenes

6. What is the name of the genetic phenomenon where the expression of one gene affects the expression of another gene?
A) Epigenetics
B) Pleiotropy
C) Gene linkage
D) Genetic drift
Answer: B) Pleiotropy

7. Which type of gene codes for proteins that control the development of body parts and the overall body plan of an organism?
A) Structural genes
B) Regulatory genes
C) Housekeeping genes
D) Junk genes
Answer: B) Regulatory genes

8. What is the term for a mutation that causes a body part to appear in the wrong location?
A) Anteriorization
B) Posteriorization
C) Homeosis
D) Morphogenesis
Answer: C) Homeosis

9. Which developmental process involves the programmed death of cells during development?
A) Apoptosis
B) Mitosis
C) Meiosis
D) Differentiation
Answer: A) Apoptosis

10. What is the name of the process by which cells become specialized for particular functions during development?
A) Dedifferentiation
B) Determination
C) Differentiation
D) Induction
Answer: C) Differentiation

11. Which of the following is NOT a major signaling pathway involved in animal development?
A) Wnt signaling
B) Notch signaling
C) Hedgehog signaling
D) Photosynthesis signaling
Answer: D) Photosynthesis signaling

12. What is the name of the signaling molecule responsible for initiating the formation of the anterior-posterior axis in fruit flies?
A) Sonic hedgehog
B) Wingless
C) Decapentaplegic
D) Bicoid
Answer: D) Bicoid

13. Which of the following is a key developmental gene involved in specifying the dorsal-ventral axis in fruit flies?
A) Bicoid
B) Decapentaplegic
C) Wingless
D) Toll
Answer: D) Toll

14. Which term refers to the evolutionary conservation of genes and developmental processes across different species?
A) Genetic drift
B) Homology
C) Convergence
D) Divergence
Answer: B) Homology

15. What is the term for the phenomenon where similar environmental pressures lead to similar adaptations in unrelated species?
A) Convergent evolution
B) Divergent evolution
C) Parallel evolution
D) Coevolution
Answer: A) Convergent evolution

16. What is the name of the process where an organism’s genetic makeup interacts with environmental factors to produce its phenotype?
A) Epigenetics
B) Genomics
C) Genetic drift
D) Phenotypic plasticity
Answer: D) Phenotypic plasticity

17. Which of the following is NOT a mechanism of evolutionary change in populations?
A) Natural selection
B) Genetic drift
C) Mutation
D) Teleportation
Answer: D) Teleportation

18. What is the term for a change in the frequency of alleles in a population over time?
A) Evolution
B) Genetic drift
C) Mutation
D) Gene flow
Answer: A) Evolution

19. Which evolutionary process occurs when individuals with certain heritable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce?
A) Genetic drift
B) Natural selection
C) Mutation
D) Gene flow
Answer: B) Natural selection

20. What is the term for the movement of genes between populations?
A) Genetic drift
B) Natural selection
C) Mutation
D) Gene flow
Answer: D) Gene flow

Leave a Comment