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Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. [1] While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding behavior. [2] Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by consuming dead animal and plant ...
Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that occur via mechanisms such as DNA methylation, histone acetylation, and microRNA modification. When these epigenetic changes are heritable, they can influence evolution. Current research indicates that epigenetics has influenced evolution in a number of organisms, including plants and ...
The process of gene expression is used by all known life—eukaryotes (including multicellular organisms), prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea), and utilized by viruses—to generate the macromolecular machinery for life. In genetics, gene expression is the most fundamental level at which the genotype gives rise to the phenotype, i.e. observable ...
Also called functionalism. The Darwinian view that many or most physiological and behavioral traits of organisms are adaptations that have evolved for specific functions or for specific reasons (as opposed to being byproducts of the evolution of other traits, consequences of biological constraints, or the result of random variation). adaptive radiation The simultaneous or near-simultaneous ...
Regulation of gene expression, or gene regulation, [1] includes a wide range of mechanisms that are used by cells to increase or decrease the production of specific gene products (protein or RNA). Sophisticated programs of gene expression are widely observed in biology, for example to trigger developmental pathways, respond to environmental ...
Exogenous DNA can also be artificially inserted into the genome, which revolutionized the process of genetic modification in animals. By microinjecting an artificial transgene into the nucleus of an animal embryo, the exogenous DNA is allowed to merge the cell's existing DNA to create a genetically modified, transgenic animal. [ 5 ]
As with other genetically modified organisms (GMOs), first genetic engineers must isolate the gene they wish to insert into the host organism. This can be taken from a cell containing the gene [3] or artificially synthesised. [4] If the chosen gene or the donor organism's genome has been well studied it may already be accessible from a genetic ...
Regulation of biological processes occurs when any process is modulated in its frequency, rate or extent. Biological processes are regulated by many means; examples include the control of gene expression, protein modification or interaction with a protein or substrate molecule.