University of California, Los Angeles

LIFESCIENC 7C

Objectives:
- Identify elements of protein-coding genes
- Interpret genome browser profiles summarizing data for coding and non-coding positions in a
genome
- Describe how properties of amino acids in a protein may affect protein structure and function
1. The diagram below shows a gene model of a protein coding region of the genome.
a. Indicate whether the sequence shown below is the template or non-template strand of this gene.
b. Transcribe the primary mRNA and then write the sequence of the mature mRNA beneath the
primary transcript.
c. Translate the mRNA to show the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide produced.
2. The UCSC Genome Browser (http://genome.ucsc.edu/) allows you to access data that many
scientists have collected to understand the human genome. Find the gene FMR1 in the genome
browser. There may be transcript variants for this gene, select the variant that begins as
nucleotide position 147,912,052 in the human genome. You should try to be well acquainted with
the Genome Browser before your Week 9 discussion.
a. On what Chromosome is FMR1 located?
b. What is the closest protein coding gene to the right of FMR1 on the chromosome?
c. What is the closest protein coding gene to the left of FMR1 on the chromosome?
d. Are there any non-coding genes to the immediate left or right of FMR1 on the chromosome? If
so, what are they?
e. Draw the FMR1 gene model below. Be sure to include the direction the gene is transcribed.
Label the exons and introns on the gene model. How many exons and introns are in FMR1?
Number of exons: _____________ Number of Introns: ______________
f. The arrowheads on the gene model represent the direction in which the gene is transcribed.
Would you expect the promoter for FMR1 to be on the left or right of the gene? Is the DNA
strand shown on the genome browser the coding or template strand of FMR1 gene?
3. In addition to the general navigation controls at the top of the genome browser, there are tools
that allow you to explore the genome in more depth. Hold the Shift key down then click and
drag your mouse across a region on the genome browser. A pop-up will appear with instructions
on how to highlight a region of the genome and zoom in on that region. Practice using the
highlight and zoom tools to label and explore a specific position in the FMR1 gene.