《Ch14_PP》.pdf

Chapter 14 Gene Expression and Signal Transduction PLANT BIOLOGISTS MAY BE FORGIVEN for taking abiding satisfac- tion in the fact that Mendel’s classic studies on the role of heritable fac- tors in development were carried out on a flowering plant: the garden pea. The heritable factors that Mendel discovered, which control such characteristics as flower color, flower position, pod shape, stem length, seed color, and seed shape, came to be called genes. Genes are the DNA sequences that encode the RNA molecules directly involved in making the enzymes and structural proteins of the cell. Genes are arranged lin- early on chromosomes, which form linkage groups—that is, genes that are inherited together. The total amount of DNA or genetic information contained in a cell, nucleus, or organelle is termed its genome. Since Mendel’s pioneering discoveries in his garden, the principle has become firmly established that the growth, development, and environ- mental responses of even the simplest microorganism are determined by the programmed expression of its genes. Among multicellular organ- isms, turning genes on (gene expression) or off alters a cell’s comple- ment of enzymes and structural proteins, allowing cells to differentia