Biology Free Response Questions

BIOLOGY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS BIOLOGY Section II Total Time—1 hour and 30 minutes Reading Period—10 minutes Writing Period—1 hour and 20 minutes 8 Questions Directions: Questions 1 and 2 are long free-response questions that require about 22 minutes each to answer and are worth 10 points each. Questions 3–8 are short free-response questions that require about 6 minutes each to answer. Questions 3–5 are worth 4 points each and questions 6–8 are worth 3 points each. Read each question carefully and completely. You are advised to spend the 10-minute reading period planning your answers. You may begin writing your responses before the reading period is over. Write your response in the space provided for each question. Only material written in the space provided will be scored. Answers must be written out in paragraph form. Outlines, bulleted lists, or diagrams alone are not acceptable. Figure 1. Phylogenetic tree representing the evolutionary relatedness among bear populations based on mitochondrial DNA sequence comparisons 1. Polar bears are highly adapted for life in cold climates around the North Pole. Brown bears, black bears, and pandas are found in warmer environments. Researchers collected complete mitochondrial DNA sequences from several populations of bears and constructed a phylogenetic tree to represent their evolutionary relatedness (Figure 1). GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -2- BIOLOGY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS A researcher studying adaptation in bears sequenced the nuclear gene encoding a lysosomal trafficking protein (LYST) in polar bears, brown bears, black bears, and panda bears. There are seven inferred amino acid substitutions that are found only in polar bears. Mutations that cause similar substitutions in the human LYST protein are associated with Chediak-Higashi syndrome, an autosomal recessive condition in which pigment is absent from the hair and eyes. The researcher used the inferred amino acid sequences to build the distance matrix shown in Table 1. TABLE 1. AMINO ACID DIFFERENCES IN THE LYST PROTEIN AMONG BEAR SPECIES Panda Black Brown Panda − Black 33 − Brown 34 1 − Polar 40 7 8 Polar − (a) Use the phylogenetic tree in Figure 1 to estimate the age in hundreds of thousands of years of the most recent common ancestor of all brown bears. Identify the population of brown bears to which polar bears are most closely related based on the mitochondrial DNA sequence comparison. Identify two populations whose positions could be switched without affecting the relationships illustrated in the cladogram. (b) Construct a cladogram on the template to represent a model of the evolutionary relatedness among the bear species based on the differences in LYST protein sequences (Table 1). Circle the position on the cladogram that represents the out-group. (c) A student claims that mitochondrial DNA sequence comparisons provide a more accurate phylogeny of bear species than do LYST protein sequence comparisons. Provide ONE piece of reasoning to support the student’s claim. (d) A researcher genetically engineers a mouse strain by deleting the mouse lyst gene and replacing it with the polar bear lyst gene. Predict the most likely difference in phenotype of the transgenic mouse strain compared to the wild-type mouse strain. Justify your prediction. (e) Describe how the mutation in the lyst gene became common in the polar bear population. If the lyst gene were the only determinant of fur color, predict the percent of white offspring produced by a mating between a polar bear and a brown bear GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -3- BIOLOGY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Figure 1. Cellular response to infection by pathogenic bacteria 2. Some pathogenic bacteria enter cells, replicate, and spread to other cells, causing illness in the host organism. Host cells respond to these infections in a number of ways, one of which involves activating particular enzymatic pathways (Figure 1). Cells normally produce a steady supply of inactive caspase-1 protein. In response to intracellular pathogens, the inactive caspase-1 is cleaved and forms an active caspase-1 (step 1). Active caspase-1 can cleave two other proteins. When caspase-1 cleaves an inactive interleukin (step 2), the active portion of the interleukin is released from the cell. An interleukin is a signaling molecule that can activate the immune response. When caspase-1 cleaves gasdermin (step 3), the N-terminal portions of several gasdermin proteins associate in the cell membrane to form large, nonspecific pores. Researchers created the model in Figure 1 using data from cell fractionation studies. In the experiments, various parts of the cell were separated into fractions by mechanical and chemical methods. Specific proteins known to be located in different parts of the cell were used as markers to determine the location of other proteins. The table below shows the presence of known proteins in specific cellular fractions. CELL FRACTIONS CONTAINING DIFFERENT CELLULAR PROTEINS Aconitase (Krebs cycle protein) Whole cell sample + Fraction 1 + Fraction 2 DNA polymerase + GAPDH (glycolytic protein) + Sodiumpotassium pump NF-kB (Immune response protein) + + + Fraction 3 + + Fraction 4 + + + = presence of protein GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -4- BIOLOGY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS (a) Describe the effect of inhibiting step 3 on the formation of pores AND on the release of interleukin from the cell. (b) Make a claim about how cleaving inactive caspase-1 results in activation of caspase-1. A student claims that preinfection production of inactive precursors shortens the response time of a cell to a bacterial infection. Provide ONE reason to support the student’s claim. (c) A student claims that the NF-kB protein is located in the cytoplasm until the protein is needed for transcription. Justify the student’s claim with evidence. Identify TWO fractions where N-terminal gasdermin would be found in cells infected with pathogenic bacteria. (d) Describe the most likely effect of gasdermin pore formation on water balance in the cell in a hypotonic environment. (e) Explain how gasdermin pore formation AND interleukin release contribute to an organism’s defense against a bacterial pathogen. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -5- BIOLOGY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS 3. Seagrasses are aquatic plants that reproduce sexually. Male seagrass flowers produce sticky pollen that is carried by circulating water to female flowers, resulting in fertilization. A researcher claims that mobile aquatic invertebrates can also transfer pollen from male to female flowers in the absence of circulating water. To investigate this claim, the researcher set up aquariums to model the possible interactions between the invertebrates and seagrasses. (a) Use the symbols below and the template aquariums to demonstrate the experimental design for testing the researcher’s claim that mobile aquatic invertebrates can pollinate seagrass in the absence of circulating water. Draw the appropriate symbols in the negative control aquarium AND the experimental aquarium. Do not use any symbol more than once in the same aquarium. Male Flower Female Flower Invertebrates (b) Identify the dependent variable in the experiment. Predict the experimental results that would support the researcher’s claim that mobile aquatic invertebrates can also transfer pollen from male to female flowers in the absence of circulating water. Negative Control Aquarium Experimental Aquarium GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -6- BIOLOGY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Figure 1. Percent survival of five strains of bedbugs treated with betacyfluthrin. A (+) indicates the gene is present; a (−) indicates the gene is deleted. Error bars represent the 95% confidence interval. 4. The common bedbug (Cimex lectularius) is a species of insect that is becoming increasingly resistant to insecticides. Bedbugs possess several genes suspected of contributing to the resistance, including P450, Abc8, and Cps. To investigate the role of these genes in insecticide resistance, research ers deleted one or more of these genes in different strains of bedbugs, as indicated in Figure 1, and treated the strains with the insecticide beta-cyfluthrin. Each strain was genetically identical except for the deleted gene(s) and was equally fit in the absence of beta-cyfluthrin. The percent survival of each strain following beta-cyfluthrin treatment is shown in Figure 1. (a) Identify the control strain in the experiment. Use the means and confidence intervals in Figure 1 to justify the claim that Abc8 is effective at providing resistance to beta-cyfluthrin. (b) P450 encodes an enzyme that detoxifies insecticides. Abc8 encodes a transporter protein that pumps insecticides out of cells. Cps encodes an external structural protein located in the exoskeleton that greatly reduces the absorption of insecticides. Based on this information and the data in Figure 1, explain how a deletion of both P450 and Abc8 results in lower survival in bedbugs compared with a deletion of Cps only. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -7- BIOLOGY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS Figure 1. Probability of nest success in an environment with predators 5. Some birds, including great spotted cuckoos, lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, such as reed warblers. The warbler parents raise the unrelated chicks and provide them with food that would otherwise be given to their biological offspring. A researcher conducted an investigation to determine the type of relationship between warblers and cuckoos in an environment without predators. The researcher found that nests containing only warblers were more likely to be successful than nests containing warblers and cuckoos (data not shown). A successful nest is defined as a nest where at least one chick becomes an adult warbler. In some geographic areas, several species of nest predators are present. Researchers have found that cuckoo chicks, while in the nest, produce a smelly substance that deters nest predators. The substance does not remain in the nest if cuckoo chicks are removed. Figure 1 shows the probability that nests containing only warblers or containing both warblers and cuckoos will be successful in an environment with predators. In a follow-up experiment, the researchers added cuckoos to a nest that contained only warblers (group 1) and removed cuckoos from a nest containing warblers and cuckoos (group 2). (a) Describe the symbiotic relationship that exists between the cuckoo and warbler in an environment without predators. (b) On the template provided, draw bars in the appropriate locations to predict the relative probability of success for the nest in the presence of predators where: • the cuckoos were added to the nest containing only warblers (group 1) • the cuckoos were removed from the nest containing warblers and cuckoos (group 2) (c) Identify the symbiotic relationship that exists between the cuckoo and the warbler in the presence of predators. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -8- BIOLOGY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -9- BIOLOGY FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS 6. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition that is associated with defects in the CFTR protein. The CFTR protein is a gated ion channel that requires ATP binding in order to allow chloride ions (Cl−) to diffuse across the membrane. (a) In the provided model of a cell, draw arrows to describe the pathway for production of a normal CFTR protein from gene expression to final cellular location. (b) Identify the most likely cellular location of the ribosomes that synthesize CFTR protein. (c) Identify the most likely cellular location of a mutant CFTR protein that has an amino acid substitution in the ATP-binding site. GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE. -10-