Genetic Basis of Complex Inheritance Flashcards
What does mendelian inheritance involve
The Law of Dominance
The Law of Segregation
The Law of Independent Assortment
What are the principles of non-mendelian inheritance
Does not fit in with Mendelian’s Law (e.g.
Gene conversion or Intermediate phenotype)
What kind of non-mendelian inheritance patterns are there
Incomplete Penetrance
Genomic Imprinting
Extranuclear Inheritance
Anticipation
What mechanisms cause incomplete penetrance
Environmental factor
Genetic Modifiers
What mechanisms cause genomic imprininting
Variants from parents
What mechanisms cause extranuclear inheritant
e.g. mitochondria mutations
What mechanisms cause anticipation
e.g. triplet repeat expansion
What is penetrance
The frequency with which a trait is manifested by individuals carrying the gene
What mutation causes cystic fibrosis (CF)
Mutation in CFTR
Autosomal recessive inheritance
What is the prevalence of CF in European Caucasians
1 in 2,500 (4% carriers)
What is the prevalence of CF in Africans
1 in 13,000
What is the prevalence of CF in Asians
Rare
How can the CF phenotype be variable
In severity and affected organs
What organs can be affected in CF
Sinuses (sinusitis infection) Lungs Skin Liver Pancreas Intestines Reproductive organs
How are the lungs, skin, liver. pancreas and intestines affected in CF
Lungs - thick sticky mucus build up, bacterial infection and widened airways
Skin - sweat glads produce salty sweat
Liver - blocked biliary ducts
Pancreas - blocked pancreatic ducts
Intestines - cannot fully absorb nutrients
What are gene modifiers
Genes that have small quantitative effects on the level of expression of another gene
It may involve polymorphism
What environmental factors can affect the severity of CF in organs
Lifestyle Diet Smoke Alcohol Drug Stress Air pollution Chemicals Infection
What else apart from genetic factors can explain the prevalence of increased diabetes
Rapid changes in lifestyle and risk factors such as:
Obesity
Unhealthy diets
Physical inactivity
What factors are seen in genetic diseases
Rare
Genetics simple
Uni-factorial
High recurrence rate
What factors are seen in enviromental diseases
Common
Genetics complex
Multi-factorial
Low recurrence rate