Exam 1- Epigenetics And Disease

Question 1

Histone

Answer 1

Protein around which DNA winds

Question 2

Transcription

Answer 2

Process of making mRNA from a section of DNA.

Question 3

Chromatin

Answer 3

DNA wrapped around histones (proteins) to give it structure inside the nucleus.

Question 4

Chromosome

Answer 4

A long structure of DNA

Question 5

Gene

Answer 5

Section of DNA that carries the code for a protein or noncoding rna

Question 6

Epigenetics

Answer 6

Can cause people with the same DNA to have different disease profiles. As twins age, they show increasing differences in methylation patterns of their DNA sequences, causing increasing numbers of phenotypic differences.

Question 7

Hypermethylation

Answer 7

Seen in miRNA genes that bind to the ends of mRNAs, degrading them and preventing their translation. When they are methylated, their mRNA targets are over-expressed, which has been associated with metastasis.

Question 8

DNA methylation

Answer 8

A type of epigenetic modification. A methyl group attaches to the cytosine base followed by a guinine base. Causes the gene to be transcriptionally inactive or silent. Aberrant methylation can lead to silencing if tumor-repressing genes in the development of cancer.

A gene with methylation on its promoter region is less likely to be transcribed into mRNA

Question 9

Embryonic stem cells

Answer 9

All cells in the embryo have the potential to become any type of cell in the fetus or adult. All cells have the same DNA sequence, but the transcriptional activity varies substantially. Epigenetic modification helps to determine the fate of each cell

Question 10

Imprinting

Answer 10

A transcriptionally silenced gene from one parent or the other.

Ex: Prader-Willi syndrome

Question 11

Oncomirs

Answer 11

MiRNAs that stimulate development and progression of cancer.

Question 12

Housekeeping genes

Answer 12

Necessary to maintain function of all types of cells and normally remain transcriptionally active