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CEPHALOPODS
SPECIAL EDITION
ctopuses, squids, and cuttlefish are a type of mollusk called cephalopods. These soft-bodied invertebrates reproduce sexually. They are fast swimmers and aggressive predators. With prominent heads and multiple tentacles, cephalopods are known for their complex behaviors and for being extremely intelligent.
squid
Cephalopods also have a remarkably large genome-it's even larger than the human genomel Their genome stands out because it has many genes related to neuron connectivity, which might explain their unusually large brains and intelligence. Cephalopods are so smart that they can solve puzzles, use tools, and even open jars.
Adding Variation
Sexual reproduction is not the only process that contributes to making offspring different from their parents. Squids and octopuses, for example, have developed a clever mechanism that increases variation in traits without really having to make changes to their genetic information.
Some genetic information becomes traits by means of a messenger molecule called RNA, RNA is the molecule that allows the expression of genetic information.
In a process called RNA editing, squids and octopuses can make changes to RNA, the messenger molecule. RNA editing leads to a change in traits that are expressed, regardless of the information coded in the genome. The highest rate of RNA-editing takes place in nervous system cells Read the case study and answer the following questions
1. SEP Analyze Data Suppose the ability to edit RNA is a dominant trait. A male squid with two dominant alleles for RNA editing sexually reproduces with a female squid that has two recessive alleles for RNA editing. Will their offspring be able to edit their RNA? Explain.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
Yes — all their offspring will be able to edit RNA.

Explanation: Let A = dominant allele for RNA editing, a = recessive allele (no editing). The father is AA and the mother is aa. Each offspring gets one allele from each parent, so every offspring will be Aa. Because A is dominant, the Aa heterozygotes express the RNA‑editing trait. In a Punnett-square view, 100% of the offspring are Aa (100% probability of showing the trait).