From Genotype to Phenotype Flashcards
(117 cards)
Define
Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
a DNA sequence variation occurring when a single nucleotide adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), or guanine (G]) in the genome (or other shared sequence) differs between members of a species or paired chromosomes in an individual
Definition
a prokaryotic immune system that confers resistance to foreign genetic elements such as those present within plasmids and phages that provides a form of acquired immunity
CRISPR/Cas
How do SNP arrays work?
- A “gene chip” contains thousands of spots, each containing single-stranded 25 base reference DNA molecules (oligonucleotides)
- Each reference DNA is complementary to an SNP allele
- Oligonucleotides are printed onto the chip, or synthesised directly on it
- Genomic DNA to be tested is fragmented, amplified as a single strand, labelled, then put on the chip
- Binding conditinos favour perfet matching between probe DNA and chip DNA
What three major classes of RNAs make up the eukaryotic transcriptome?
- Ribosomal RNAs (rRNA)
- Protein-encoding RNAs (mRNA)
- Small RNAs (including tRNA)
Define
Polymorphism
a DNA variation present in more than 1% of people
Definition
a molecular biology term for an insertion or deletion of bases in the genome of an organism
INDELs
Define
Haplotype
the unique combination of alleles that makes up an individual
Define
Orthologues
Any of two or more homologous gene sequences found in different species related by linear descent
Define
Complementary DNA (cDNA)
DNA synthesized from a single-stranded RNA (e.g., messenger RNA (mRNA) or microRNA) template in a reaction catalyzed by the enzyme reverse transcriptase
How does silencing gene expression through RNAi work?
- dsRNA is formed in the cytoplasm
- dsRNA is cleaved into 21-23 nt short interfering (si)RNA duplexes by Dicer enzyme
- siRNAs are incorporated into multiprotein RNA-inducing silencing complex (RISC)
- siRNA is unwound - antisense strand remains associated with RISC and base-pairs with target mRNA
- RISC cleaves and inactivates target mRNA. Expression is reduced but not completely abolished
Define
Allele
an alternative form of a genetic locus
Why is gene identification in eukaryotic genomes more difficult than gene identification in prokaryotes?
- Density of genes varies
- Genes are concentrated in G/C rich areas of the genome
- < 2% of human genome encodes protein or ncRNA
- ~25% of human genome is regulatory/introns
- Rest of the genome is scaffolding or “junk DNA”
- Promotor sequences are not easily recognisable
- Regulatory factors bind enhancers far form the transcription initiation site
- Most genes are interrupted (introns)
- Exons (ORFs) can be very small (< 600 codons)
- Particular exons do not always appear in mRNA (alternative splicing)
- Some genes encode microRNAs (small and not translated)
True or False:
Each EST only contains exons
True
Define
Isoforms
any of two or more functionally similar proteins that have a similar but not identical amino acid sequence and are either encoded by different genes or by RNA transcripts from the same gene which have had different exons removed


Most RNA is highly susceptible to _____________, so it is very difficult to purify and maintain an RNA molecule in an intact state
Most RNA is highly susceptible to nucleases, so it is very difficult to purify and maintain an RNA molecule in an intact state
Definition
Any of two or more homologous gene sequences found in different species related by linear descent
Orthologues
What do we need to know about each gene? How do we obtain this information?
For each gene we need to know:
- Where and when it is transcribed into RNA
- How it is spliced, and how many spliceoforms there are
- Whether particular spliceoforms are restricted to particular cells or growth stage
This information cannot be directly deduced from genomic sequence with confidence. We rely on analysis of complementary DNA (cDNA) and Expression Sequence Tages (ESTs), derived from RNA.
Definition
an approach used to identify genes (or set of genes) responsible for a particular phenotype of an organism
Forward genetics
Definition
the polymerase that only transcribes ribosomal RNA (but not 5S rRNA), a type of RNA that accounts for over 50% of the total RNA synthesized in a cell
RNA polymerase I
________ genetic analysis can be applied to specifically mutate the gene in question
Reverse genetic analysis can be applied to specifically mutate the gene in question
Definition
the complete collection of RNA produced from a genome
Transcriptome
True or False:
Each EST is a small segment of mRNA generated by reverse transcriptase
False
What can be concluded if a DNA sequence from a genome matches exactly to a specific EST?
It can be concluded that the genomic DNA is transcribed and that it represents a gene (or gene fragment)







