Chick Gene Project:

George the “Special” Chick By: Neha K., Olivia L., and Rachel H.

1st Period

There once was a chicken who looked a little different than everyoneelse.

All his friends could waddle around with their tails in the air, but hecouldn't. He didn't have one.

All of his siblings had tufts of fur that grew beneath their ears and he didn't.

Everyone else in the chicken coop played Simon Says. But he didn't.

He wandered alone picking up fallen out feathers hoping to attach them to himself so he too could have ear tufts and a tail.

"Maybe," he thought, "Just maybe if I have them too, then all the other chicks will like me, and I can play their games too.”

One day he asked his dad, “Dad? Why do I look different than everyone else? All of my friends and all of my brothers have ear tufts and tails. I am rumpless. Is something wrong with me? ”

“At school, I learned that when you grow your cells multiply by meiosis, sometimes something goes wrong and you can be different. Am I mutated? I think there's something wrong in my DNA."

Dad: “Nothing's wrong with your DNA. You see, we are all the same because we are all made up of ACG&T but our sequences aren't the same, so we all look different.”

Chick: “Sequence? What's a sequence?”

Dad: “The sequence is the order of the codons. The order is what makes you have the traits you do.”

Chick: “Well why did my codons get all lined up so I have no tail and no tufts?”

Dad: “The reason you have the traits you do is because I gave you 23 of my chromosomes.”

Chick: “If i got 23 chromosomes from you, dad, where did I get the rest? Surely I am not only made up of 23 chromosomes.. And I don't even look like you."

Dad: “You're right, you also got 23 chromosomes from your mom.”

Chick: “Is this why I don't have a tail or tufts like my brothers and sisters?”

Dad: “That's right. Clearly, I have the dominant gene for a tail, and I must be heterozygous because you, my son, don't have a tail, and neither did your mother.”

Chick: “My mom was araucana too?”

Dad: “That's right. She and I are both aracuana.”

The End!

Analysis

During the growth process of cells, they reproduce through mitosis. This process occurs daily, and even many times a day as cells continually need to be replenished as others die.

As cells form more complex organisms, they produce different types of cells that result in a functioning organism. A group of cells of the same type form a larger structure called a tissue (skin, muscle). Multiple tissues can form an organ (eye, kidney). This variation among cell groups is known as differentiation. When cells become a part of a tissue or organ, they lose their ability to work alone and cannot survive without the support of other cells. Thus we see that cell differentiation is essential for a working body.

Analysis

The portions of DNA that carry genetic information are called genes. Genes contain a specific sequence of nucleotides that contain the instructions for a certain protein. In the story which showed what we predicted that the mother was aracuana because of the genes it inherited. The proteins determine which physical characteristics an organism displays. All organisms are the same in that they are all made up of AGCT but it is the sequence that makes them different. Meiosis is important in sexual reproduction because it reduces chromosome number from diploid to haploid.

Citations

"Araucana." Poultry Breeds. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.

"Araucana Club of America - Araucana Chicken." Araucana Club of America - Araucana Chicken. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.

"Araucana - APA and ABA Show Birds, Pet Araucana, Araucana Eggs for Sale,Araucana Chicks for Sale, Araucana Chickens, Araucana For Sale, Araucanas ForSale, Araucana Chicks, Araucana Hens, Araucana Photos, Araucana C." Araucana - APA and ABA Show Birds, Pet Araucana, Araucana Eggs for Sale,Araucana Chicks for Sale, Araucana Chickens, Araucana For Sale, Araucanas ForSale, Araucana Chicks, Araucana Hens, Araucana Photos, Araucana C. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.

"American Livestock Breeds Conservancy: Phoenix Chicken.“ American Livestock Breeds Conservancy: Phoenix Chicken. N.p., n.d.

"Chicken Breeds - Araucana." Chicken Breeds - Araucana. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.

Glionna, John M. "Phoenix-area Residents Squawking about Backyard Chicken Coops." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.