Spot the difference: Zebrafish
- Type:
- Quiz / observation activity
- Age level:
- 14 years +
- Topic area:
- Zebrafish, model organisms, genes, human disease
- Description:
In this activity students have to use their observational skills to identify and record the difference (phenotypic change) between two images, one wild type zebrafish and one mutant zebrafish. To aid in their diagnosis of the phenotypic change a glossary is provided to gives hints and clues as well as definitions for specific scientific terms. Some images depict whole embryos or adult fish others focus in on specific tissues or body parts such as muscle.
- Key Words
- Zebrafish, model organisms, wild type, mutant, human disease, phenotype, genes
Running the Activity:
- To run this activity, you will need:
- Introductory presentation on model organisms and the activity.
- Student worksheet.
- Flashcards
Detailed instructions on how to run the activity and thorough discussion points are provided in the Teacher's Notes in the Support Materials section.
Credits
- Content: Francesca Gale, Steve Scott and Elisabeth Busch
- Graphics: Preeti Deshpande
Support Materials:
Curriculum links:
This activity supports the following specifications on the UK curriculum. Click on the arrows below for further detail of the specification links.
AQA
AQA GCSE Biology & GCSE Science A
Unit 1: Biology 1
B1.7 Genetic Variation and its control
B1.7.1 Why organisms are different
- Differences in the characteristics of different individuals of the same kind may be due to differences in:
- the genes they have inherited (genetic causes)
- the conditions in which they have developed(environmental causes)
- or a combination of both.
AQA GCSE Biology & GCSE Additional Science
Unit 2: Biology 2
B2.7 Cell division and inheritance
Candidates should use their skills, knowledge and understanding to:
Construct genetic diagrams of monohybrid crosses and predict the outcomes of monohybrid crosses and be able to use the terms homozygous, heterozygous, phenotype and genotype
AQA AS Human Biology
Unit 2 HBIO2 Humans – their origins and adaptations
3.2.1 The information of life
Nucleic acids – the keys to life:
- Genes are sections of DNA which contain coded information that determines the nature and development of organisms.
- A gene can exist in different forms called alleles which are positioned in the same relative position (locus) on homologous chromosomes.
- Enzymes are proteins whose synthesis is controlled by DNA. They control metabolic pathways and thus influence the phenotype of an organism.
AQA A2 Biology
Unit 4 BIOL4 Populations and environment
3.4.8 Genetic variation within a species and geographic isolation leads to the accumulation of different genetic information in populations and the potential formation of new species
Inheritance:
- The genotype is the genetic constitution of an organism.
- The phenotype is the expression of this genetic constitution and its interaction with the environment.
- The alleles at a specific locus may be either homozygous or heterozygous.
- Alleles may be dominant, recessive or codominant.
- There may be multiple alleles of a single gene.
Cambridge
Cambridge IGCSE
Section III: Development of the organism and the continuity of life
3. Inheritance
3.4 Monohybrid inheritance
Define the terms:
- genotype as genetic makeup of an organism in terms of the alleles present (e.g. Tt or GG)
- phenotype as the physical or other features of an organism due to both its genotype and its environment (e.g. tall plant or green seed)
- homozygous as having two identical alleles of a particular gene (e.g. TT or gg). Two identical homozygous individuals that breed together will be pure-breeding
- heterozygous as having two different alleles of a particular gene (e.g. Tt or Gg), not pure-breeding
- dominant as an allele that is expressed if it is present (e.g. T or G)
- recessive as an allele that is only expressed when there is no dominant allele of the gene present (e.g. t or g)
3.5 Variation
- Define mutation as a change in a gene or chromosome
CCEA
CCEA A2 Biology
Unit A2 2: Biochemistry, Genetics and Evolutionary Trends
5.4 Gene technology
- 5.4.6 Appreciate that the inactivation or replacement of genes facilitates the understanding of gene and organism function:
- understand that genes may be made inoperative (disabled or removed – details of the techniques not required) or replaced with defective alleles;
- understand that these strategies allow the gene’s role in protein production and subsequently in metabolism to be assessed;
- the mouse (knockout mouse and knockin mouse) as a model organism for the study of genes;
- these techniques can be used to study the development of genetic disorders and drug therapies.
5.5 Genes and patterns of Inheritance
- 5.5.1 Understand the terms genotype and phenotype:
- definition of the terms genotype and phenotype;
- the role of the genotype and the environment in determining an organism’s phenotype;
- homozygosity and heterozygosity.
Edexcel
Edexcel GCSE Biology & Additional Science
Unit B2: The components of life
Topic 1: The building blocks of cells
- 1.25 Demonstrate an understanding of how gene mutations change the DNA base sequence and that mutations can be harmful, beneficial or neither.
Edexcel IGCSE Biology
Section 3: Reproduction and inheritance
b) Inheritance
- 3.17 Demonstrate an understanding of how gene mutations change the DNA base sequence and that mutations can be harmful, beneficial or neither.
- 3.18 recall that mutation is a rare, random change in genetic material that can be inherited
- 3.19 understand that many mutations are harmful but some are neutral and a few are beneficial
Edexcel AS Biology
Unit 2 Development, Plants and the Environment
Topic 3: The voice of the genome
- Explain how some phenotypes are affected by alleles at many loci (polygenic inheritance) as well as the environment (e.g. height) and how this can give rise to phenotypes that show continuous variation.
OCR
OCR Gateway GCSE Biology B and Additional Science B
Module B1 Understanding organisms
Item B1h Variation and Inheritance
-
Use and explain genetic terms:
- homozygous – two identical alleles
- heterozygous – two different alleles
- genotype – the genetic makeup
- phenotype – the characteristics expressed.
OCR 21st Century Science GCSE Biology A and Science A
Module B1 You and your genes
B1.2 Why can people look like their parents, brothers and sisters, but not be identical to them?
- Understand that the term genotype describes the genetic make-up of an organism (the combination of alleles), and the term phenotype describes the observable characteristics that the organism has.
OCR A2 Human Biology
Unit F225: Genetics, Control and Ageing
Module 1: Genetics in the Twenty First Century
5.1.1 Inheritance of Human Genetic Disease
- Explain the terms gene, allele, locus, phenotype, genotype, dominant and recessive.
OCR A2 Biology
Unit F215: Control, Genomes and Environment
Module 1: Cellular Control and Variation
5.1.1 Cellular Control
- State that mutations cause changes to the sequence of nucleotides in DNA molecules.
- Explain how mutations can have beneficial, neutral or harmful effects on the way a protein functions.
- Explain that the genes that control development of body plans are similar in plants, animals and fungi, with reference to homeobox sequences (HSW1).
WJEC
WJEC GCSE Biology and Science A
Biology 1 Adaptation, evolution and body maintenance
3. Inheritance
- Understand that genes are sections of DNA molecules that determine inherited characteristics and are in pairs. Genes have different forms, called alleles.
- The following terms should be understood: genotype, phenotype, dominant, recessive, F1, F2, selfing, heterozygous, heterozygote, homozygous and homozygote and an understanding of simple Mendelian ratios.
IBO
IBO Biology diploma
Topic 4: Genetics
4.1 Chromosomes, genes, alleles and mutations
- 4.1.2 Define gene, allele and genome.
- 4.1.3 Define gene mutation.
4.3 Theoretical genetics
- 4.3.1 Define genotype, phenotype, dominant allele, recessive allele, codominant alleles, locus, homozygous, heterozygous, carrier and test cross.
Web links:
Additional sources of information on the web for teachers and students to increase their knowledge of zebrafish and their use as model organisms.
