Genetics Flashcards
What does genome mean?
ALL THE genetic material found in one cell, it being nuclear or mitochondrial.
Which part of the DNA is included in the final messenger RNA during transcription; introns or exons?
Introns.
When are introns removed from dna
RNA splicing, they direct where the splicing machinery should go.
What is the sense strand and which direction does it move in?
The strand that gets transcribed. Moves from the 5’ to the 3’ direction.
What is gene density?
How many genes can be found in a certain length of DNA. The more the genes, the higher the DNA density.
What is a tandem repeat
A tandem repeat is a sequence of two or more DNA base pairs that is repeated in such a way that the repeats lie adjacent to each other on the chromosome. Tandem repeats are generally associated with non-coding DNA.
What are the 3 types of tandem repeats
Satellites (5 Base pairs to 5 kilo base pairs) Mini satellites ( 6 to 64 base pairs) Micro satellites (1 to 5 base pairs)
What is the difference between mitochondrial and nuclear DNA?
Mitochondrial DNA is naked, i.e not covered in histones. Also, mitochondrial DNA contains mainly coding dna and not much junk protein
How do you calculate genotype/ phenotype frequency?
Number of individuals with specific phenotype/ total individuals
How do you calculate allele frequency?
Homozygous individuals + heterozygous individuals/ total number of people.
What is meant by hardy weinberg’s equilibrium
It is a state in which no genetic microevolution occurs, a genetic equilibrium
What equations can we use for hardy weinberg’s equilibrium
P squared + 2pq+ q squared.
P+q=1
What is a translocation mutation?
The exchange of genetic material between two chromosomes
What is a insertion mutation?
Part of a chromosome being inserted into another chromosome (not exchanged)
What is a transposition mutation.
The change of the place of DNA within the gene
What is a substitution mutation?
When a base pair changes from one type to another, example AGG to ACG
What are the two types of substitutions and what do they mean?
- Transition (purine to purine or pyramidine to pyramidine)
2. Trans version (purine to pyramidine or vice versa)
What is a tautomeric shift
The abnormal binding of purines to pyramidines
What is the major mutagen found in food? What does it do to cause the mutation? What type of cancer does it lead to?
Aflatoxin B, binds to guanine residues and causes their removal. It leads to liver cancer.
What happens in the normal splicing process
normal splicing process, introns are removed and exons are placed close together to undergo translation
What are intercalators at what can they lead to
Flat molecules that insert themselves in the middle of base pairs. Can lead to insertions and deletions
What is Mosiacism and how does it occur
When there are two different genetic lines in an organism. It caused by a mutation that happens in the developmental stage. The earlier in the mutation happens, the more the mocaisim will be which may eventually lead to disease,
What meant by halpoinsufficiency
Where we have one faulty copy and one normal copy, however the normal gene is incapable making up for the faulty copy leading to formation of disease.
What happens in hereditary hemorrhagic Telacgentasia
Mutation in chromosome 9 in gene coding for endolgin, a growth hormone receptor. This leads to insufficient amounts of endoglin being formed. This results in aretriovenous malformations and arterial and venous blood get mixed
What is the dominant negative effect, give an example of a disease with this effect.
When we have one mutant and one faulty copy, the product of the defective gene interferes with the fucntioning of the normal allele. Osteogenesis imperfecta
What is an autosome?
A non sex chromosome.
What is epistasis
When the action of a gene masks the effect of another.
What is the H antigen?
The antigen needed in RBCs to be able to add A or B antigens. If antigen is not present, it cannot add nor A nor B antigens so will present as blood type O, even if both parents do not posses the O allele.
What is pleiotropy
The result of a gene mutation which can have many different forms (eg tourretes)
What is the opposite of pleiotropy? Explain it
Genetic heterogeneity. This means that a specific symptom can be the result of many different gene mutations
What is penetrance?
How likely it is for a patient carrying a diseased allele to actually get the disease. Some diseases have low penetrance, meaning that a patient might not express symptoms of the disease, despite showing symptoms.
Why does a mother with a mitochondrial mutation transmit the disease to all of her offspring but a father does not?
Mitochondrial genes are X LINKED. Therefore if a mother has a mitochondrial disease, she will transmit it to all of her children. However, her sons will not be able to transmit it to his children.
What is a wild type allele
Normal allele
What is uniparental disomy
When a child takes both copies of a gene from one parent only and not one from each parent.
What are the two rules of Mandelain inheritance
- Segregation (alleles split and only one is inherited by a child)
- Independent assortment (different genes are inherited independently of each other)
Summarize all exceptions of madeleine inheritance
Lethal alleles Incomplete dominance Codominance Silent alleles Epistasis Pleiotropy Genetic heterogeneity Variable expressivity Incomplete penetrance Phemocopies Incomplete ascertainment Germaine mosaicism Mitochondrial inheritance Uniparental disomy Linkage
What are phenocopies?
When an environmentally causes disease mimics a genetic disease, example is when a mum takes a pill during pregnancy that she was not supposed to leading to abnormal embryo.
How many hydrogen bonds do the purines(A and G) /pyrimidines(C and T) form with each other?
Purines= 2. Pyramidines= 3
What is a nucleosome?
A single histone with DNA wrapped around it.
State the steps of DNA Replication
- Helicase separates the two DNA strands
- Primase adds a primer to initiate the addition of bases in the 5’ to 3’ end by DNA polymerase. The new strand being formed is called leading and the other is called lagging.
- On the anti sense (3’ to 5’) strand, DNA polymerase adds Okazaki fragments after primase adds primers as it cannot work in thus direction
- DNA ligament seals the two new DNA strands.
From which direction is the DNA strand read?
From left to right (upstream to downstream)
What is a DNA library?
A collection of recombinant DNA kept for research purposes.
What is the function of restriction endonuclease?
Breaks down DNA into smaller fragments after a specific recognition site of base pairs. It produces sticky ends. This allows us to take a closer look at the DNA structure.
What are the two types of DNA libraries?
- Genomic DNA library
3. cDNA library
Describe how DNA in genomic library is formed and what it is used for
- Normal DNA strand. Add restriction nuclease to it
- DNA will be broken up into many small fragments
This always scientists to study to study the DNA sequence
Describe how DNA in cDNA library is formed and what it is used for
- We get a DNA strand and allow it to undergo transcription forming mRNA
- mRNA will contain introns, so it will undergo splicing to have only the exons present in the strand and contain only the protein coding portion
- This mRNA is then taken and undergoes reverse transcription by reverse transcriptase to produce a single stranded complementary dna (cDNA) that can then be cloned.
This method is done to be able to study the PROTEINS produced by a certain gene.
Explain the process of recombinant DNA.
It is the process that creates a target new DNA by combining DNA molecules from two different species. This new DNA is then inserted into a host organism to produce many copies.
Example: inserting DNA into fruits to make them last longer
Where do we get the DNA required for recombinant DNA technology?
ccDNA and genomic libraries.
What are the 4 requirements of recombinant DNA technology
- Extract DNA sequence of interest by the action of a restriction nuclease
- Insert the DNA into a Vector e.g. plasmid or bacteriophage and seal with DNA ligase
- Insert plasmid with recombinant DNA into bacteria and culture it.
- Kill the remaining bacteria which do not have the recombinant DNA by antibiotics
- Extract the DNA to use again.
What is plasmid
A plasmid is a small, extrachromosomal DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently.
What are the two types of PCR
Qualitative, tells us if a specific sequence is present or not and produces many copies
Quantitative: tells you how much of a specific DNAu have.
What is Taq polymerase and why do we use it in PCR?
It is a DNA polymerase extracted from bacteria that can able to withstand very high temperatures without getting denatured.
Describe the steps of PCR
- Denaturation by strong heat
- Annealing by lowering temperatures to allow addition of RNA primer
- Elongation by taq polymerase and dNTPs
BUFFER OF OH AND MAGNESIUM
In gel electrophoresis, why do DNA fragments go to positive electrodes?
DNA is negative charged. The smaller the molecule the closer to the positive electrode it will be
What is the stain that can be used to further visualize DNA in gel electrophoresis by UV light?
Ethidium bromide
What are the two types of agarose gels
Agarose- separates large DNA fragments
Acrylamide- can separate small DNA fragments up to 1 base pair difference
How do we know the size of the fragments on DNA on gel electrophoresis
Compare the size to known standards
Which type of PCR Should be done to determine viral load in the blood?
Real time PCR (quantitative)
What a probe
A ssDNA labeled with fluorescent dye used to test for a specific DNA sequence.
What does RFLP mean?
Restriction fragment length polymorphisms. This means that the fragments of DNA produced by a restriction enzyme I’ll differ in number in size from an individual to an individual
What do we use RFLP in?
DNA fingerprints, sickle cell anemia (Beta subunit will be a larger size than normal)
What is southern blotting?
The process by which a specific DNA pattern is detected by labeling it with a fluorescent DNA probe on a membrane.
Write out the steps of southern blotting
- DNA is broken down into smaller fragments by restriction enzymes
- Separated based on size by gel electrophoresis
- DNA is denatured (strands are separated) and blotted into a membrane by placing it in a bugger
- Probe is placed on membrane to hybridize, then is washed.
- The areas with the target DNA will show fluorescence
What is the molecule found in DNA that allows for the elongation of the sugar phosphate backbone?
OH.
What is the difference between dNTPs and ddNTPs?
dNTP: deoxynuceloside triphosphate, aka. AGCT. These are the base pairs we use to elongate a DNA sequence because they posses an OH group
ddNTP: dideoxynucleoside triphosphate. These do not have an OH group so are called CHAIN terminators.
What is Sanger’s method?
The method we use for DNA sequencing. We add a fluorescently labeled primer, ddNTPs and dNTPs, DNA polymerase. The chart produced is read from bottom to top (3’ to 5’). The actual DNA sequence will b the one complementary to it.
What is lyonisation
The inactivation of one of the two X chromosome on a cellular level in females to prevent over expression
What is primary prevention
The prevention of disease before it occurs
What is secondary prevention
Halt the progression of the disease and identifying it at its earliest stage
E.g Pap smear for HPV virus
What are ways in which the X chromosome is inactived?
DNA methylation
Low levels of Histone acetylization
What is the gene that determines gender?
SRY