Chromosomes & Genetic Dz Flashcards
apportionement of genome over numbers of chromosomes in humans
In humans, 3.2 x 109 nucleotide pairs are distributed over 24 different chromosomes, 46 total
Some species of deer have six and some species of carp have over 100 chromosomes
How to obtain banding patterns of human chromosomes
Giemsa staining
- Picture: Chromosomes are numbered In approximate order of size And were stained during an Early stage of mitosis when*
- The chromosomes are Incompletely compacted*
Why is it hard to cure genetic disease?
don’t know which parts are important (exons) and which are not (introns) – note how little of the chromosome is actually gene.
Regulatory Sequence
part of gene that is neither intron nor exon
It decides which genes will be expressed and become protein (regulates downstream)
To which animal are human chromosomes most closely related?
Chimpanzee
- Human/chimpanzee DNA sequence divergence is only 1.2%
- Human/orangutan sequence divergence is 3%
- Human/human sequence divergence is 0.1%, that is there are 3.2 X 106 differences between you and me
Different states of chromosomes
Chromosomes exist in different states at different times during the cell cycle
Chromosomes are condensed during mitosis
Three chromosome sequences required for cell viability
- Replication Origin is the specific place where DNA synthesis begins; mammalian chromosomes have multiple replication origins (helicase goes to RO)
- Centromere is the attachment site between the chromosome and the mitotic spindle which allows one copy of each of the duplicated chromosomes to go to each daughter cell
- Telomeres are the ends of chromosomes and contain repeated sequences enabling the ends to be efficiently replicated
Importance of segretation in chromosomal replication
attachment, separation, and equal distribution very important – otherwise you end up with deletions, duplications (e.g., monosomy, trisomy)
aneuploid cell: definition
A somatic cell that does not contain a multiple of 23 chromosomes
Trisomy: definition
an aneuploid cell containing three copies of one chromosome
Monosomy: definition
the presence of only one copy of any chromosome
Monosomy vs trisomy prognosis
often lethal, but infants can survive with trisomy of certain chromosomes “It is better to have extra than less”
Trisomies: which allow survival?
13, 18, 21
Can occur for any chromosome at conception, but these are the only forms seen w/frequency
(trisomy 16 is most common among abortuses but not seen in live births)
Why is aneuploidy of sex chromosomes typically less serious that that of the autosomes?
For Y chromosome: very little genetic material For X chromosome: inactivation of extra chromosomes largely diminishes their effect
*a zygote bearing NO X chromosome will not survive
Nondisjunction
- usually cause of aneuploidy
- Failure of homologous chromosomes or sister chromatids to separate normally during meiosis or mitosis
- nondisjunction during either stage of meiosis produces some gametes that have 2 copies of a given chromosome and others that have no copies. When these gametes unite with normal haploid gametes, resulting zygote is monosomic or trisomic for that chromosome
Disjunction
Normal separation of chromosomes during cell division
Homologous chromosomes, sister chromatids
Partial trisomy
Only an extra portion of a chromosome is present in each cell
Chromosomal mosaics: definition, how and where does it happen?
- Possible for trisomies to occur in only some cells of the body
- body has 2 or more different cell lines, each of which has a different karyotype
- Usually formed by early mitotic nondisjunction occurring in one embryonic cell but not in others
Trisomy 21, aka…
- Down Syndrome
- Best-known example of aneuploidy
Incidence of trisomy 21
1:800 live births
Characteristics of person w/trisomy 21
Mentally retarded, low nasal bridge, epicanthal folds, protruding tongue, poor muscle tone (hypotonia), short stature, congenital heart defects, dementia
IQ 25 to 70
Trisomy 21: health consequences
Congenital heart defects in 1/3 to 1/2 of live-born children w/down syndrome
- reduced ability to fight respiratory tract infections
- increased susceptibility to leukemia
- By 40yo, nearly always develop alzheimer-like symptoms
- one of genes that can cause alzheimer dz is located on chromosome 21
Trisomy 21: life expectancy
- 3/4 fetuses w/known down syndrome spontaneously aborted or stillborn
- 20% born w/down syndrome die during first 10 years of life
- If survive >10 years, average life expectancy is 60 years
Causes of trisomy 21
- 97%: nondisjunction during formation of one parent’s gametes during embryonic development
- 90% - 95%: in formation of mother’s egg cell, remaining is paternal
- 1% are mosaics
- 3%: translocations
Chromosomal mosaics and trisomy 21
1% of individuals w/down syndrome known to be mosaics
b/c large number of normal cells, effect is attenuated, symptoms sometimes less severe
how does maternal age affect risk for trisomy 21?
- increases greatly with maternal age
- women <30 yo - 1:1000 - 1:2000
- 35+ - begins to rise substantially
- 45+ - 3% to 5%
Why does maternal age affect risk for trisomy 21?
consequence of maternal egg cells: in arrested stage of prophase I from formation in female embryo until shed in ovulation.
= egg cell formed by 45 year old woman is 45yo. Enough time for accumulation of errors leading to nondisjunction
Risk of trisomies and paternal age
No apparent association
Trisomy 13
Patau syndrome
One of the trisomies associated with survival
associated w/CL/P
**extra: **severe intellectual disability and physical abnormalities in many parts of the body. Individuals with trisomy 13 often have heart defects, brain or spinal cord abnormalities, very small or poorly developed eyes (microphthalmia), extra fingers or toes, an opening in the lip (a cleft lip) with or without an opening in the roof of the mouth (a cleft palate), and weak muscle tone (hypotonia). Due to the presence of several life-threatening medical problems, many infants with trisomy 13 die within their first days or weeks of life. Only five percent to 10 percent of children with this condition live past their first year.
Trisomy 18
One of the trisomies associated with survival
Trisomy X
female that has three X chromosomes.
Termed “metafemales”
Symptoms are variable: sterility, menstrual irregularity, and/or mental retardation. No overt physical abnormalities. Symptoms worsen with each additional X
One of the most common sex chromosome aneuploidies (1:1000 newborn females)
Turner syndrome
45X: Females with only one X chromosome
Characteristics
- Absence of ovaries (sterile)
- Short stature (~ 4’7”)
- Webbing of the neck
- Edema
- Underdeveloped breasts; wide nipples
- Have g_onadal streaks_ and susceptible to cancer
- X is usually inherited from mother
- coarctation of aorta
- spontaneous abortion common if carrying child w/Turner S
Klinefelter syndrome
47XXY: Individuals with at least two Xs and one Y chromosome
Caused by nondisjunction
Characteristics
- Male appearance
- Develop female-like breasts
- Small testes
- Sparse body hair
- Long limbs
- higher voice
- low IQ
Some individuals can be XXXY and XXXXY. The abnormalities will increase with each X.
Alterations in chromosome structure
- chromosome breakage
- spontaneous mutations (transversions)
- UV light induced mutation
- Inversions
- Deletions
- Silent mutations
- nonsense mutations
- frameshift mutations
- translocation
- insertion
Chromosome breakage
If a chromosome break does occur, physiological mechanisms will usually repair the break, but the breaks often heal in a way that alters the structure of the chromosome
Agents of chromosome breakage: Ionizing radiation, chemicals, and viruses
e.g., deletions, duplications, inversions, translocations
Example of deletion
Cri du chat syndrome
“Cry of the cat”
Deletion of short arm of chromosome 5
Low birth weight, metal retardation, and microcephaly
Spontaneous Mutations: Transversions
e. g. cytosine becomes uracil after amine group is lost
(internet: pyrimidine for purine or vice versa)
UV Light Induced Mutation
UV light causes a bulge that changes a single point (this is the phenomenon, could cause any number of mutation types
Inversions
- Two breaks on a chromosome
- Reversal of the gene order
- Usually occurs from a breakage that gets reversed during reattachment
- ABCDEFG may become ABEDCFG
- “balanced” alteration - often no apparent physical affect. Serious problems usuall occur in offspring. Chromosome needs to form a loop to line up w/normal homolog - can lead to duplications/deletions in daughter cells
Deletion
section of dna is deleted
Best example: cri du chat
Duplication
- Presence of a repeated gene or gene sequence
- Rare occurrence
- often associated w/mental retardation
- Less serious consequences because better to have more genetic material than less (deletion)
- Duplication in the same region as cri du chat causes mental retardation but no physical abnormalities (as opposed to deletions -> cri du chat)
- Examples: fragile X, huntington’s
Silent Mutation
code is altered, but expression is not b/c read same amino acid
Nonsense Mutation
Changes to a stop
Where you develop deficiencies
Frameshift Mutation
Alters all ensuing sequences – whole new set of AAs.
Example: PTHrp (necessary in pregnancy, bad in cancer)
Missense mutation
Substitute for one base pair - results in new amino acid
Translocation
- The interchanging of material between nonhomologous chromosomes
- occurs when two chromosomes break and the segments are rejoined in an abnormal arrangement
- e.g., piece of chromosome 4 exchanges w/20, changes lengths and codes of both – identified much more quickly than changes in DNA order
- most clinically significant type: Robertsonian
Insertion
area of one chromosome inserted into non homologous chromosome
Fragile sites
- Fragile sites are areas on chromosomes that develop distinctive breaks or gaps when cells are cultured in a folate deficient medium
- Fragility d/t multiple factors
- Most have no apparent relationship to disease (other than fragile X)