Natural Selection and Evolution of Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
Resource Type
Description
This activity supports concepts covered in the film Natural Selection and Adaptation. Students analyze genetic sequence data and draw conclusions about the evolution of coat-color phenotypes in the rock pocket mouse.
The activity begins with students reading a magazine article and watching the film. They then use a genetic code chart, to determine the amino acids encoded by a sequence of the Mc1r gene in different mouse populations. They then compare amino acid sequences to identify variations associated with different coat colors.
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Student Learning Targets
- Explain the connection between genotype and phenotype.
- Make claims about the evolution of coat color in different rock pocket mouse populations based on evidence from amino acid sequences.
Estimated Time
Key Terms
amino acid, gene expression, mRNA, mutation, protein
Primary Literature
Nachman, Michael W., Hopi E. Hoekstra, and Susan L. D'Agostino. “The genetic basis of adaptive melanism in pocket mice.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100, 9 (2003): 5268–5273 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0431157100.
Terms of Use
The resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. No rights are granted to use HHMI’s or BioInteractive’s names or logos independent from this Resource or in any derivative works.
Version History
NGSS (2013)
HS-LS1-1, HS-LS3-2, HS-LS4-2, HS-LS4-4, HS-LS4-5; SEP6
AP Biology (2019)
EVO-1.C, EVO-1.D, EVO-1.E, EVO-1.H, EVO-1.O, IST-1.N, IST-1.O, IST-2.E, IST-4.A, IST-4.B; SP1, SP2, SP6
IB Biology (2016)
3.1, 5.2
IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)
3.2
Common Core (2010)
ELA.RST.9–12.7
Vision and Change (2009)
CC1; DP1