Chapter 9: Biochemical Genetics Flashcards
- The science concerned with the chemical and the physical nature of genes and the mechanism by which they control the development and maintenance of the organism.
- Use to define metabolic diseases.
Biochemical genetics
Biochemical genetics
- The science concerned with the chemical and the physical nature of __ and the mechanism by which they control the development and maintenance of the organism.
- Use to define __ __.
- genes
- metabolic diseases
__ __ are conditions caused by inherited enzyme deficiencies that disrupt normal body metabolism.
Metabolic diseases (Garrod’s hypothesis)
What is Garrod’s hypothesis?
Garrod’s hypothesis (1908) proposes that metabolic diseases result from inherited enzyme deficiencies that disrupt normal body metabolism.
According to Garrod’s hypothesis, enzyme deficiencies lead to the accumulation of a __ __, which is the compound acted upon by an enzyme in a __ __. Additionally, there may be impaired formation of a product that is normally produced by the deficient enzyme.
- toxic substrate
- chemical reaction
What are the consequences of enzyme deficiencies according to Garrod’s hypothesis?
According to Garrod’s hypothesis (1908), enzyme deficiencies lead to the accumulation of a toxic substrate, which is the compound acted upon by an enzyme in a chemical reaction. Additionally, there may be impaired formation of a product that is normally produced by the deficient enzyme.
Garrod’s hypothesis was proposed by __ __ __ in __, pioneering the understanding of the genetic basis of metabolic diseases.
- Sir Archibald Garrod
- 1902
- What happens in normal metabolic pathways?
- What can occur if there is a deficiency or malfunction of an enzyme in a metabolic pathway?
- In normal metabolic pathways, enzymes catalyze the conversion of substrates into products.
- If there is a deficiency or malfunction of an enzyme involved in a particular step of a metabolic pathway, the substrate may accumulate because it cannot be converted into the product.
When an enzyme is deficient or absent, the excess substrate may be diverted into __ __ __. What can be produced as a result of this?
- alternative metabolic pathways
- toxic metabolites or by-products
Garrod’s Hypothesis proposes “__ __ - __ __,” suggesting that genes act through the production of enzymes.
one gene - one enzyme
According to Garrod’s Hypothesis, each __ is responsible for producing a single __.
- gene
- enzyme
Garrod’s Hypothesis: “One Gene-one enzyme”
Genes act through the production of __, with each gene responsible for producing a single enzyme that in
turn affects a single step in a __ __.
- enzymes
- metabolic pathway
- metabolic pathways: Highly __ __ making up the __ __ that continually occur in the body.
- Produce crucial chemicals such as __, __for the digestion of food and the breakdown of various body wastes.
- controlled sequences
- biochemical reactions
- pigments
- enzymes
- refer to the inability to produce a certain enzyme, which interrupts a metabolic pathway.
- In the homozygous recessive state, a defective enzyme in the metabolic pathway can result in serious physiological consequences.
inborn errors of metabolism
Who first observed and coined the term “inborn errors of metabolism”?
Sir Archibald Garrod observed that inherited diseases reflect a patient’s inability to make a particular enzyme, which he referred to as “inborn errors of metabolism.”
Garrod’s hypothesis was proven to be correct by __ and __ in the 1930s. They demonstrated the relationship between genes and enzymes, confirming the concept of “__ __-__ __.”
- George Beadle
- Edward Tatum
- one gene - one enzyme
Garrod studied __, a harmless but rare disorder in the general population but more frequent in children of first-cousin marriages.
alkaptonuria
What is the characteristic symptom of alkaptonuria?
A patient with this disorder produces urine that when exposed to air turns distinctively dark, because these people lack the enzyme found in normal individuals who are able to convert the reddening agent, alkapton, to another substance
How did Garrod determine the nature of alkaptonuria?
Following Mendel’s laws, Garrod concluded that alkaptonuria is a congenital disorder, not the result of a bacterial infection as was commonly thought.
How was alkaptonuria often detected in infants?
diapers of infants, particularly in the front part, due to the characteristic darkening of the urine.
Garrod found that alkaptonuria is inherited as a __ __ __ trait.
single gene recessive