Linkage Analysis Flashcards
What is meant by genetic variation?
→ differences in the DNA sequence between individuals in a population
What can variation be due to?
→ Inherited
→ Environmental factors
What are the 4 effects that genetic variation can have?
→ Alteration of amino acid sequence
→ changes in gene regulation
→ Physical appearance
→ silent or no apparent effect
What are the 3 reasons genetic variation is important?
→ Underlies phenotypic differences among individuals
→ Determine predisposition to complex diseases, drugs and environmental factors
→ Genetic variation reveals clues of ancestral human migration history
What is a mutation/polymorphism and what does this affect?
→ An error in DNA replication
→ It can affect single nucleotides of larger portions of DNA
What are the three types of mutations?
→ Germline
→ Somatic
→ De Novo
What is the difference between germline and somatic mutations?
→ Passed onto descendants - germline, occurs in gametes
→ Not transmitted to descendants - somatic- can lead to cancers
What is a de novo mutation?
→ a new mutation that is not inherited from either parent
→they occur spontaneously, either in one of the parental gametes or in the fertilized egg during early embryogenesis
What is gene flow?
→ The movement of genes from one population to another
What is genetic recombination?
→ Shuffling of chromosomal segments between partner (homologous) chromosomes of a pair
What is a mutation?
→ a rare change in the DNA sequence
→ different to the normal sequence
→ there is a normal allele present in the population
What is a polymorphism?
→ A DNA sequence variant that is common in the population
→no single allele is regarded as normal
→ two or more equally acceptable alternatives
What is the cut off point between a mutation and a polymorphism?
→ Minor allele frequency of 1%
What does the common allele frequency need to be for it to be classed as a polymorphism?
→ 1%
At what phase does genetic recombination occur?
→ Prophase
What happens during genetic recombination?
→ Maternal and paternal chromosomes line up together
→ exchange of genetic information between them
What is crossing over?
→ Reciprocal breaking and re-joining of the homologous chromosomes during meiosis
What does crossing over result in?
→ Exchanges of chromosome segments and new allele combinations
What is the genotype?
→ The genetic make up of an individual
What is the phenotype?
→ The physical expression of the genetic make up
What does being homozygous mean ?
→ The genotype has two identical alleles