Lecture 12 Flashcards
Define genotype
genetic makeup
What is a pedigree chart?
A pedigree is a diagram showing genetic information from a family, using standardized symbols
State 2 purposes of a pedigree chart
- Determines whether the pattern of inheritance for a given trait
- Discovers whether the gene in question is located on an X or Y chromosome or an autosome
Why is it important to establish how a trait is inherited?
State 3 reasons
If the pattern of inheritance can be established, it can be used to predict genetic risk in several situations, including:
- Pregnancy outcomes
- Adult-onset disorders
- Recurrence risks in future off spring
Pedigrees use a standardised set of symbols.
How are males and females represented?
- Squares represent males
- Circles represent females
Pedigrees use a standardised set of symbols.
How are affected individuals represented?
Individuals with the phenotype in question is represented by a filled-in symbol
Pedigrees use a standardised set of symbols.
How are heterozygotes represented?
Heterozygotes, when identifiable, are indicated by a shaded dot or a half-filled symbol
Pedigrees use a standardised set of symbols.
How are individuals represented when their sex is unknown?
If the sex of a person is unknown, a diamond is used
Pedigrees use a standardised set of symbols.
How are romantic relationships represented?
- Parents are connected by a horizontal line
- Closely related parents (such as first cousins) are connected by a double line
- Divorced parents are connected by a horizontal line with slanted lines
Pedigrees used a standardised set of symbols.
How are offspring represented?
- Offspring are connected to parents by a vertical line
- Off spring are connected by a horizontal sibship line (listed in birth order from left to right)
Pedigrees used a standardised set of symbols.
How are twins represented?
- Non-identical twins are connected by two diagonal lines
- Identical twins are connected by two diagonal lines as well as a horizontal sibship line
Pedigrees used a standardised set of symbols.
How are aborted, miscarried or stillborn offspring represented?
Deceased offspring are represented with a cross through their respective symbols
Pedigrees used a standardised set of symbols.
How are deceased individuals represented?
Deceased individuals are represented with a diagonal line through their respective symbol
Explain the numbering system in pedigree construction
- Each generation is identified by a Roman numeral (I, II, III, and so on)
- Each individual within a generation is identified by an Arabic number (1,2,3, and so on)
What are the five basic Mendelian patterns of inheritance for traits controlled by single genes?
- Autosomal recessive inheritance
- Autosomal dominant inheritance
- X-linked dominant inheritance
- X-linked recessive inheritance
- Y-linked inheritance
Identify a non-Mendelian pattern of inheritance
Mitochondrial inheritance - traits controlled by single genes coded for by mitochondrial genes
Polygenic - lots of characteristics are controlled by lots of genes
Complex or multifactoral - genes and the environment work together
What effects inheritance?
Environment - can control genotype and phenotype. For example, DNA damage by radiation
Which diseases are more to do with genotype and which diseases are more to do with environment?
Mix between genotype and environment (controlled by both genotypes and environment - both are important)
Identify 3 unique features of autosomal recessive inheritance
- All the children of two affected (homozygous) individuals are affected
- The risk of an affected child from two heterozygote parents is 25%
- For rare traits, affected individuals have unaffected parents (can skip generations due to carriers)
- Disease can seem to ‘come out of nowhere’
- Males and females equally affected
What can be expected with traits on autosomes (non-sex chrosomes)?
- Expressed in both males and females (affected in roughly equal numbers)
- Both the male and the female parent transmit the trait
Identify 6 different diseases with autosomal recessive inheritance
- Albinism
- Cystic fibrosis
- Phenylketonuria
- Sickle cell anaemia
- Thalassemia
- Xeroderma pigmentosum
Draw out a diagram showing the inheritance of autosomal recessive?
Draw out an example of an autosomal recessive punnett square
Autosomal dominant (features of this)
- Males and females equally affected
- Every affected individual will have (at least) one affected parent
- Disease cannot skip a generation, i.e. affected individual(s) found in every generation
Identify 4 unique features of autosomal dominant inheritance
- Most affected individuals are heterozygotes and still have an abnormal phenotype
- Unaffected individuals carry two recessive alleles
- All offspring have a 50% chance of being affected
- Every affected individual has at least one affected parent
- AUTOSOMAL DOMINANT DISEASES ARE RARELY FOUND IN HOMOZYGOUS STATE - THEREFORE ASSUME THAT INDIVIDUALS ARE HETEROZYGOTES (as the zygote wouldn’t survive if there are two alleles)
Briefly, describe the features of the following clinical conditions:
- Albinism
- Cystic fibrosis
- Xeroderma pigmentosum
- Albinism: absent pigments in skin, eyes, hair
- Cystic fibrosis: mucous production that blocks the ducts of certain glands and lung passages
- Xeroderma pigmentosum: lack of DNA repair enzymes leading to UV light sensitivity and skin cancer
Briefly, describe the features of the following clinical conditions:
- Phenylketonuria
- Sickle cell anaemia
- Thalassemia
- Phenylketonuria: excess accumulation of phenylaline in blood leading to mental retardation
- Sickle cell anaemia: abnormal haemoglobin leading to blood vessel blockage (crises)
- Thalassemia: improper haemoglobin production with symptoms ranging from mild to fatal
How can one differentiate between homozygous and heterozygous patients for autosomal dominant disorders?
- Phenotype in homozygous dominant individuals is often more severe
- Homozygous dominant trait is often not compatible with life
Describe the relationship with homologous chrosomes and chromatids
- Homologous chromosomes have the same genes
- Homologous chromosomes may carry different alleles
- Sister chromatids have identical DNA, have the same alleles
- Non-sister chromatids have the same genes, but may have different alleles
An individual with an autosomal dominant disorder has two unaffected parents. How did this disorder occur?
- A mutation occured in single gene
- Common for genes with high mutation rates
Identify 4 different diseases with autosomal dominant inheritance
- Achondroplasia
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Marfan syndrome
- Huntington disease