Heredity and Genetics Flashcards
What are the 2 types of pairs of genes?
Homozygous: both alleles are the same
Heterozygous: alleles are different
What is a genotype vs a phenotype?
Genotype is the gene posessed, can be XX, Xx or xx, can have dominant and recessive alleles
Phenotype is the characteristic displayed based on the genotype
What is sex-linked inheritance?
The 23rd pair of chromosomes codes for sex, either XX (female) or XY (male)
The 23rd chromosome also codes for other genes which are not related to sex, but are contained within the 23rd
Ex. red-green colourblindness, hemophilia (not able to form blood clots) etc.
What are Autosomal heredity disorders?
Carried by the other 22 chromosomes, not sex-linked
CF, Huntingtons, sicle cell anemia etc.
What is polygenic inheritance?
Traits are determined by many genes throughout the chromosomes
What is point mutation?
When a single nucleotide is affected by a mutation
This can affect the entire structure of a protein
What is spontaneous mutation?
Mutation that arises naturally through mistakes in replication or meiosis
What is induced mutation?
Mutation arises from external conditions known as mutagenic agents
How is infertility defined?
The inability to get pregnant after 12 months of regular, unprotected sex
40% male, 50% female and 10% unknown
About 1 in 7 couples experience difficulty
Describe intrauterine insemination.
Involves injecting the sperm into the uterus within 6 hours of ovulation
Sperm is seperated from semen
Causes little or no pain
Success rate is low, 6-20%
Explain assisted reproductive technology
A category of reproductive technology Involves removing eggs, mixing them with perm, then returning them to the woman’s body
28% success rate
Includes IVF, GIFT, ZIFT and ICSI
Describe in vitro fertilization.
Most commonly used
Woman takes fertility drugs to assist egg production
Eggs are retrieved
Eggs are combined with sperm from male
Fertilized egg develops in a lab for a few days
Healthy embryos returned to the woman’s body
Describe gamete intrafallopian transfer.
Ovulation induction, egg retrieval and sperm collection the same as IVF
Eggs mixed with sperm and immediately returned to the woman’s body
Fertilization occurs in the fallopian tube
What are some controversies surrounding reproductive technologies
Criteria for treatment of infertility being debated
Age can affect fertility and whether someone can qualify
IVF increases chance for multiple pregnancies and premature births (can affect development)
Explain the advantages of preimplantation genetic diagnosis
Involves removing a single cell and testing for genetic defects Can reduce the chance of issues Not always accurate Can lead to issues Expensive
Explain the concept of ‘Designer Babies’.
PGD (testing for certain genes) can lead to individuals wanting to choose characteristics of their children
Ethical issue with deciding on characteristics
Explain the difference between Embryonic stem cells and Somatic stem cells.
Embryonic come from embryos, usually unused embryos (leads to potential ethical issues)
Somatic come from the body of a developed person (Heart, brain, bone marrow etc.)
Explain the process of cloning.
Insert DNA to be cloned into a bacterial plasmid. The plasmid will serve as a carrier.
Expose bacterial cells to the plasmid. some cells will pick up the plasmid by transformation (antibiotic gene is added too so the affected bacteria will survive and unaffected bacteria dies)
As the bacterial cell replicates, it makes many copies of the DNA
