Genetics Flashcards
Normal human karyotype
46 chromosomes - 2n (22 pairs of autosomes and a pair of sex chromosomes)
Chromosome structure
Each chromosome consists of a short (p) and long (q) arm joined at the centromere
Telomere
Telomere - seal ends of chromosomes and maintain structural integrity (repetitive sequence of thymine)
Telomerase replaces 5’ end of long strand during DNA replication making strand shorter until it can no longer divide
Chromosome classification
• centrally = metacentric
• terminal = acrocentric (13,14,15,21,22 - Robertsonian chromosomes)
• intermediate position = submetacentric
Mitosis
process by which chromatically separate and divide in to two separate cells
Usually lasts 1 to 2 hours
5 distinct stages: prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase
Prophase
chromosomes condense, mitotic spindle begins to form, two centrioles begin to form and move to opposite poles (microtubules begin to form from alpha/ beta tubulin)
Prometaphase
nuclear membrane disintergrates and chromosomes attach to microtubules by centromeres
Metaphase
chromosomes line along equatorial plate of cell to form mature spindle- chromosomes maximally contracted so visible X shape
Anaphase
centromere of each chromosome divides longitudinally and 2 daughter chromatids separate to opposite poles of cell
Telophase
2 groups of chromatids become surrounded by nuclear membrane
Cytokinesis
cell cytoplasm divides to form two new diploid daughter cells
Interphase
G1 - chromosomes become thin and extended (variable in length so accounts for change in generation time. Cells that have stopped dividing, e.g. Neurones, arrest in this phase = G0)
S - DNA replication occurs and the chromatin of each chromosome is replicated (homologous pairs replicate in synchrony but 1 of X chromosomes is always late as is inactive X chromosome that forms the sex chromatin which viewed in interphase of female somatic cell)
G2 - chromosomes begin to condense
Importance of mitosis
• producing 2 genetically identical daughter cells to parent cell
• growth
• replace dead cells
Clinical relevance of mitosis
• detecting chromosomal abnormalities
• categorising tumours as benign or malignant
• grading malignant tumours
Meiosis
the process of nuclear division that occurs in final stages of gamete formation
Prophase I
chromosomes are already split longitudinally into 2 chromatids joined at centromere. Homologous chromosomes pair (with exception of X and Y in males where pairing only occurs at tip of shorter arms called pseudoautosomal region) and crossing over may occur, exchange of non-sister chromatid alleles.
Metaphase I
the nuclear membrane disappears and chromosomes become aligned on the equatorial plane of cell- attached to spindle
Anaphase I
chromosomes separate to opposite poles as spindle contracts (independent assortment)
Telophase I
each set of haploid chromosomes separated so cleaves to form 2 new daughter gametes (secondary spermatocytes or oocytes)
Meiosis II
same as mitotic division to form 4 haploid (n) new daughter gametes (spermatids or ova)- genetically different
Preventing mutations during cell replication/division
• genetic material protected in stem cells as rapid cell division occurs in daughter cells not stem cells
• 3 checkpoints: at end of G1 restriction point, needs external growth factor for cell division to continue; in G2 checkpoint looks for damage and unreplicated DNA, can stop cell cycle and kill cell to prevent replication of mutated DNA controlled by P53 but gene for P53 is often mutated in cancer cells leading to uncontrolled cell division; S phase checkpoint by RPA protein itstabilises the replication fork and coordinates repair
3 Main differences between mitosis and meiosis
- Mitosis = diploid cells, meiosis = haploid cells
- Mitosis occurs in somatic cells and early stages of gamete formation, meiosis occurs only at final stage of gametic maturation
- Mitosis = one cell division, meiosis = 2 cell divisions
3 cell populations
• permanent cells- cells that never divide G0 eg neurones
• Labile cells- cells that constantly divide eg epidermis
• stable cells- spend most of time in G0 but can be induced to re-enter cell cycle eg liver cells
Stopping mitosis
Mitotic spindle - taxol or vinca alkaloids (vinblastine, vincristine)
Spindle poles- ispinesib
Anaphase - colchicine-like drugs- form ring structures
Oogenesis
mature ova develop from oogonia which themselves originate from primordial germ cells by a process involving 20-30 mitotic divisions that occur in first few months of embryonic life.
By completion of embryogenesis at 8 months of intrauterine life, the oogonia have begun to mature into primary oocytes that undergo meiosis.
At birth, all enter a maturation arrest phase (dictyotene) in which remain suspended until meiosis I is completed at time of ovulation, when a single secondary oocyte is formed that receives most of cytoplasm. Other daughter cell is a polar body (largely consists of nucleus). Meiosis II then occurs (fertilisation can occur) resulting in 2 more polar bodies- meiosis II only completed if fertilisation occurs
Older mothers and non-disjunction
Lengthy interval between onset of meiosis and completion accounts for increased incidences of chromosomal abnormalities in offspring of older mothers: damage to cell’s spindle formation and repair mechanisms, leading to non-disjunction
When does meiosis I complete for oogenesis
Time of ovulation
When does meiosis II complete for oogenesis
Fertilisation
Spermatogenesis
at puberty spermatogonia begin to mature into primary spernatocytes which enter meiosis I and emerge as haploid secondary spermatocytes. Then undergo second mitotic division to form spermatids, which develop into mature spermatozoa
Continuous process so many mitotic divisions leading to new dominant mutations due to consequences of DNA copy errors in interphase (s)
Numerical chromosomal abnormalities
loss or gain of one or more chromosomes (aneuploidy) or the addition of one or more complete haploid components (polyploidy). Loss of a single chromosome - monosomy
Trisomy
presence of an extra chromosome eg downs syndrome is presence of additional 21 chromosome. Usually caused by failure of separation of one of pairs of homologous chromosomes during anaphase I or less often when sister chromatids fail to separate in anaphase II- non-disjunction
Trisomy conditions
Patau syndrome (trisomy 13)
Edward’s syndrome (trisomy 18)
1st trimester miscarriage (trisomy 16)
Down’s syndrome (trisomy 21)
Monosomy
absence of a single chromosome. For an autosome, usually not carried to full term. Turner syndrome - lack of X or Y chromosome resulting in 45,X karyotype. Can be caused by non-disjunction or anaphase lag (loss of chromosome during anaphase)
Polyploidy
cells contain multiple of the haploid number of chromosomes
Triploidy (69) can be caused by failure of maturation meitotic division in an ovum or sperm(eg retention of polar body or diploid can be caused by fertilisation of an ovum by 2 sperm (dispermy)
2 paternal = swollen placenta/ 2 maternal = small placenta - not carried to term
Down syndrome
• learning problems
• short stature
• characteristic facial appearance
• congenital heart disease
Additional 21 chromosome (trisomy)
47, XX/XY +21
Mosaicism
the presence in an individual or tissue of 2 or more cell lines that differ in the genetic constitution but are derived from a single zygote. Usually results from non-disjunction in early embryo mitotic division or can exist if a new mutation arises in a somatic or early germline cell division. Germline/ gonadal mosaicism = duchenne muscular dystrophy
Chimerism
the presence in an individual of 2 or more genetically distinct cell lines derived from more than one zygote. Dispermic chimeras - result of double fertilisation whereby 2 sperm fertilise 2 ova and the resulting 2 zygotes fuse to form one embryo (if different sex, XX/XY karyotype so hermaphroditism). Blood chimeras - exchange of cells, via the placenta, between non-identical twins in utero
robertsonian translocation
results from the breakage of 2 acrocentric chromosomes (13, 14,15, 21 and 22) at or close to their centromeres with subsequent fusion of their long arms - centric fusion. The short arms are lost so the total chromosome number is reduced to 45. (No gain or loss of genetic material as short arms only code for rRNA). Can predispose to birth of babies with Down syndrome as a result of embryo inheriting 2 normal 21 chromosomes and a translocation chromosome involving a 21 chromosome
dosage sensitive
Genes are dosage sensitive (normal dose is 2)- deletion or duplication causes an imbalance, causing a disease
deletion
loss of part of a chromosome and results in monosomy for that segment. Large deletion - Wolf-Hirschhorn and cri du chat. Submicroscopic microdeletions- Prader-Willi and Angelman syndrome
Insertion
when a segment of one chromosome becomes inserted into another
Inversion
a two-break rearrangement when a segment is reversed in position. If involves centromere, pericentric inversion. If only one arm, paracentric inversion- results in recombinant chromosomes (acentric cannot undergo mitotic division. Dicentric are unstable during cell division)
Ring chromosomes
when a break occurs on each arm of a chromosome leaving two ‘sticky’ ends on the central portion that reunite as a ring. The two distal fragments are lost so if an autosome, serious effects
Isochromosome
loss of one arm with duplication of the other as centromere divided transversely not longitudinally (eg 2 long X chromosome arms = Turner syndrome)
Duplication
section is copied
Translocation
the transfer of genetic material from one chromosome to another. A reciprocal translocation is formed when a break occurs in each of 2 chromosomes with the segments being exchanged to form 2 new derivative chromosomes- a Robertsonian translocation is when the breakpoints are located at, or close to, the centromeres of 2 acrocetric chromosomes. Segregation at meiosis: they can segregate to generate significant chromosome imbalance leading to early pregnancy loss or birth of an infant with multiple abnormalities. Problems arise at meiosis as they cannot pair normally to form bivalents- instead form a cluster called a pachytene quadrivalent. When they separate they can:
1. If alternate chromosomes segregate, the gamete will carry a normal/ balanced haploid complement
2. If adjacent chromosomes segregate together, the gamete will acquire an unbalanced chromosome complement, leading to non-disjunction at fertilisation
3. 3 chromosomes can segregate to one gamete with only one chromosome in the other gamete. - tertiary trisomy
Balanced translocation
no gain or loss of DNA (same number of genes just swapped), so healthy human
Unbalanced translocation
loss or gain of DNA, causing a disease
Mosaicism
the presence in an individual or tissue of 2 or more cell lines that differ in the genetic constitution but are derived from a single zygote. Usually results from non-disjunction in early embryo mitotic division or can exist if a new mutation arises in a somatic or early germline cell division
Example of condition caused by Gondal mosaicism
duchenne muscular dystrophy
Chimerism
presence in an individual of 2 or more genetically distinct cell lines derived from more than one zygote.
Dispermic chimeras
result of double fertilisation whereby 2 sperm fertilise 2 ova and the resulting 2 zygotes fuse to form one embryo (if different sex, XX/XY karyotype so hermaphroditism)
Blood chimeras
exchange of cells, via the placenta, between non-identical twins in utero
DNA composition
nucleic acid is a long polymer of nucleotides (each composed of a nitrogenous base, deoxyribose, and a phosphate molecule) with phosphodiester bonds between 3’ and 5’ carbons on adjacent sugars
• purine bases: guanine, adenine. Pyrimidine bases: cytosine, thymine, uracil
• 2 anti-parallel chains in a double helix joined by hydrogen bonds between complementary bases- a purine always pairs to a pyrimidine: G&C (3 hydrogen bonds) and A&T (2 hydrogen bonds)
DNA semiconservative replication
allows replication and self-repair
1. Helix unwound by topoisomerase and strands separated by DNA helicase breaking hydrogen bonds
2. Single stranded binding (SSB) protein coat the strand to prevent team taking or snapping back together and exposed bases act as a template for free DNA nucleotides to bond to by complementary base pairing
3. Primate enzyme synthesises a short RNA primer
4. DNA polymerase joins nucleotides together by forming phosphodiester bonds in 5’ to 3’ direction. Replication fork= leading strand synthesised in continuous process. Lagging strand synthesised in Okazaki fragments which are then joined by DNA ligase
5. DNA replication progresses in both directions from points of origin to form replication bubbles which fuse to form 2 identical daughter molecules
6. (RNAse H recognises RNA primers bound to the DNA template and hydrolyses them and DNA polymerase can fill in the gaps)
Which enzyme unwinds DNA helix
Topoisomerase
Which enzyme breaks hydrogen bonds
DNA helipads
Which enzyme synthesises short RNA primer
Primate enzyme
Which enzyme joins together nucleotide bases
DNA polymerase
Which enzyme joins Okazaki fragments
DNA ligase
Which enzyme hydrolyses RNA primers
RNAse H
Coiling of DNA
DNA is coiled around a histone to form nucleosomes (8 histone proteins)
Tertiary coiling of nucleosomes forms chromatin fibres that form long loops which coil further- the solenoid model. Chromatin condenses into visible aggregates (chromosomes)
Who suggested dna structure
Watson and Crick in 1953 based on X-ray diffraction studies
Telomere
seal ends of chromosomes and maintain structural integrity (repetitive sequence of thymine)
Telomerase replaces 5’ end of long strand during DNA replication making strand shorter until it can no longer divide
Degenerate but unambiguous
amino acids coded for by more than one codon but each codon is specific to one amino acid
Almost universal
same in all organisms apart from fewer than 10 exceptions
Non-overlapping
Each nucleotide is only read once
Telomerase
replaces 5’ end of long strand during DNA replication making strand shorter until it can no longer divide
Nuclear DNA sequence
genes, unique single copy (code for polypeptides), multigene families (arisen through gene duplication eg alpha and beta globin gene), classic gene families (high sequence homology eg numerous copies of genes coding for rRNA), gene superfamilies (limited sequence homology but functionally related)
Extragenic DNA
tandem repeat, satellite, minisatellite, telomeric
Mitochondrial DNA
2 rRNA genes and 22 tRNA genes
RNA
Single-stranded molecule that forms an alpha helix and is relatively short
Contains uracil instead of thymine and ribose instead of deoxyribose
mRNA
formed by transcription of DNA and allows flow of genetic material from nucleus to ribosome. Consists of a leader sequence (with a guanosine cap) at the 5’ end, a coding region and a trailer sequence at the 3’ end with a poly(A) tail
tRNA
single-stranded 3D RNA (clover -shaped formed by hydrogen bonds) that carries amino acids to ribosomes during translation through base pairing the anticodon with the codon of mRNA
- at least 20 types
rRNA
folded RNA which forms aggregates with ribonuclease proteins in ribosomes. Contains many loops and exhibit extensive base pairing in the regions between loops. It has enzymatic properties that catalyse the formation of peptide bonds between amino acids
Allele
alternative form of a gene at a specific locus
Law of uniformity
when 2 homozygotes with different alleles are crossed, all of the offspring in the F1 generation are identical and heterozygous
Law of segregation
each person possesses 2 genes for a particular characteristic, only one of which can be transmitted at any one time
Law of independent assortment
(Mendel’s 2nd law) = members of different gene pairs separate to offspring independently of one another
Genome
all the genes and non-coding DNA in the body
3 types of genome
- Germline - genome in the sperm/eggs. Passed from parent to child- heritable
- Somatic - genome found in every other tissue. Not heritable
- Mitochondrial - found only within the mitochondria. Heritable
Non-coding DNA
promoter sequence (transcription factors binds), introns, enhancers, terminators
Phenotype
the physical or behavioural characteristics of an organism that results from the interaction between its genotype and environment
Mutagenesis
an alteration to the genomic code by exposure to a substance- mutation. Can be in the womb or post natal eg in carcinogenesis, exposure to radiation
Teratogenesis
a damaging effect on embryonic/ fetal development by exposure to a substance eg virus causing cell death, toxin interrupting blood supply. Some teratogens are also mutagens. Teratogens eg smoking, alcohol
Monogenic
caused by a single gene mutation
Somatic
disease causing mutations are found in the affected tissue (cancer)
Malformation
intrinsic issue with development of an organ or tissue eg congenital heart disease. Commonly genetic
Deformation
extrinsic factors impinge upon development of an organ eg compression from womb due to no amniotic fluid (due to no kidneys in baby so no urine), blood clot leading to loss of limb. Less commonly genetic
Minor malformation
more than 2, consider underlying genetic condition
Major malformation
consider underlying genetic condition
Teratogens mechanism
Affects development of tissues not genes
Splice site
codes in DNA to move a portion of RNA. Second most common section for mutations
Major histocompatibility complex
located on chromosome 6
• group of genes that code for proteins found on the surfaces of cells that help the immune system recognize foreign substances
DNA repair
• mismatch repair
• DNA base excision
Dual excision
a short section of single stranded DNA (25ish nucleotides) containing the lesion is removed
Micro satellite instability
condition that arises when a mutation develops in the mismatch repair genes so the cell can no longer repair errors (insertions or deletions) leading to an increased mutation rate
Proband
individual of interest on pedigree drawing
Indicated by an arrow
Pedigree chart: square
Male
Pedigree chart: circle
Female
Pedigree chart: diamond
Gender unknown
Pedigree chart: diagonal line through symbol
Person deceased