Genetics Summary Flashcards
What contributes to disease?
Genes and environment
In what fashion do DNA strands pair up?
Antiparallel
What direction is DNA replicated and read?
5’ to 3’ direction
What type of backbone does DNA have?
Sugar-phosphate backbone
How are DNA strands wound?
By associating with proteins including Histones
What is the wound DNA structure called?
Chromosome
When does disease occur in relation to DNA replication?
DNA can be damaged during replication, disease occurs when repair mechanisms are defective
What joins Okazaki fragments together?
DNA ligase
What unzips DNA?
DNA helicase
What does Mitosis produce?
One diploid parent cell becomes two identical diploid daughter cells
What does Meiosis produce?
One diploid parent cell becomes 4 varying haploid daughter cells
What process produces genetic variation between cells produced via meiosis?
Crossing over
When is meiosis used?
Formation of gametes
What type of back bone does RNA have?
Ribose sugar backbone
What is central dogma?
DNA is transcribed into preRNA
PreRNA is spliced into mRNA
mRNA is translated into protein
How many bases encode 1 amino acid or stop codon?
3 bases
What are the possible sequence variations within a gene?
Changes in promoter sequence (marks where gene begins)
Changes in exon sequence
What are the possible sequence changes possible in DNA between genes?
SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms)
Larger deletions or duplications
What are polymorphisms?
Any variation in human genome which has a population frequency of greater than 1%
Do polymorphisms cause disease?
Not in their own right but can predispose to common disease
What is a mutation?
Any heritable change in the human genome
Gene change that causes a genetic disorder
What is classical genetic disease?
One mutation sufficient to cause disease
What is multifactorial disease?
Multiple polymorphisms cause risk of disease
What is the chromosomal nomenclature of a normal female?
46 XX
What is the chromosomal nomenclature of a normal male?
46 XY
What is a balanced chromosomal rearrangement?
All chromosomal material is present
What is unbalanced chromosomal arrangement?
Extra or missing chromosomal material
What is aneuploidy?
Whole extra or whole missing chromosome
What is translocation?
Rearrangement of chromosomes
What condition is 47 XY +21?
Down’s syndrome
Trisomy 21
What condition is 47 XY +14?
Miscarriage
Trisomy 14
What condition is 47 XY +18?
Edward syndrome
Trisomy 18
What condition is 45 X?
Turner syndrome
What condition is 47 XXY?
Klinefelter syndrome
What is Robertsonian translocation?
Long ends of two acrocentric chromosomes are stuck together end to end
Short ends are lost
What does Microarray CGH detect?
Missing or duplicated chromosome
What is PCR?
A small piece of human genome is amplified and sequenced to find mutations
What is FISH?
Used to light up a specific sequence of chromosome
Mutation
Promotor and splice site sequence changes causes
Stopping of transcription
Abnormal splicing
Mutation
Base changing causing amino acid change causes
Change in protein sequence
May or may not reduce protein function
Mutation
Premature stop codon causes
Shortened protein
May or may not reduce protein function
Mutation
Insertion or deletion of bases
May or may not change protein produced
What is a Mendelian disorder?
A disease that is caused by a change in a single gene
Autosomal Dominant
How many generations are affected?
All generations
Autosomal Dominant
What is the risk of affected child if parent affected?
50%
Autosomal Dominant
How severe is disease?
Variable severity
Autosomal Dominant
Is a particular sex more affected?
Both males and females are equally likely to be affected
Autosomal Dominant
How many copies of gene are required to cause disease?
Only 1 copy of faulty required to cause disease
Autosomal Recessive
How many copies of gene required to cause disease?
2 copies faulty gene are required to cause disease
Autosomal Recessive
How many generations are affected?
Often only one generation is affected
Autosomal Recessive
How likely is it that a child is affected if parents are carriers?
25%
Autosomal Recessive
What increases likelihood of being affected by this disorder?
Consanguineous (incestuous) families
Autosomal Recessive
What does this type of disorder cause?
Usually loss of function
X-linked
Is this type of disorder dominant or recessive?
Recessive
X-linked
What role does the Y chromosome play in this type of disorder?
Almost irrelevant
X-linked
If a mother is a carrier, what is the chance of daughter being a carrier or son being affected?
50% chance of daughter being a carrier
50% chance of son being affected
X-linked
If a father is affected, what is the chance of daughter being a carrier or son being affected?
50% chance daughter is affected
0% chance son is affected
What is X-inactivation?
In females one of X chromosomes within each cell is randomly inactivated
Why does X-inactivation occur?
Cell only required one working copy of the X chromosome
Mitochondrial Disorders
Where is mitochondrial DNA inherited from?
Almost exclusively maternally
Mitochondrial Disorders
What does mitochondrial DNA contain?
Genes for mitochondrial metabolic pathways and ribosomal RNAs
Mitochondrial Disorders
Symptoms of this type of disorder
Myopathy - disease of muscle tissue
Diabetes
Deafness
Optic atrophy - damage to optic nerve
Stroke like episodes
Encephalitis - inflammation of brain
What is haploinsufficiency?
Having only one copy of working gene is not enough
What is a dominant negative?
Abnormal protein interferes with normal protein
What is a Gain of function mutation?
A mutation activated gene
Mendelian Disorders
What extent does environment contribute to disease?
Small environmental contribution
Mendelian Disorders
What level is penetrance of this type of disorder?
High penetrance
Multifactorial Disease
What role does genetic change play in risk of disease?
Just another risk factor
Multifactorial Disease
What is the penetrance of one mutation in this type of disorder?
Low for any one mutation
What does DNA methylation cause?
Modification of histones which represses transcription
What does imprinting cause?
Differences in gene expression depending on whether the gene was maternally or paternally inherited
What is Heteroplasmy?
Different daughter cells contain different proportions of mutant mitochondrial
What characteristics are gained by cells on progression to cancer?
Proliferation
Evasion of immune system
Aquire vascular supply
Avoid apoptosis
Metastasis - development of secondary growths
What genes are involved in cancer?
Oncogenes
Tumour suppressors
DNA repair genes
Drug metabolism
Cancer
What is oncogenes role?
Switch on for cell division
Cancer
What are tumour suppressors role?
Switch on to stop cell division
Cancer
What is the role of Drug metabolism?
Genes that metabolise carcinogens
What are mechanisms of gene activation?
Duplication of gene
Activation of gene promotor
Change in amino acid sequence