W3LECT - GENETIC VARIATIONS Flashcards
What are classic definitions of Mutation and polymorphism?
- Mutation
- Disease causing variation
- Rare variation - Polymorphism:
- Variation with a population frequency of > 1%
- Non-harmful or neutral variation
What are the differences between mutation and polymorphism?
- Mutations are sudden heritable changes in the DNA
- Polymorphism: DNA variation with a known population frequency (can be used in population genetic studies). There is no frequency limit
*** It is proposed that in most cases, instead of mutation and polymorphism neutral terms like “sequence variant”, “alteration” and “allelic variant” should be used.
What are the most frequent variants?
SNP/SNV: single nucleotide polymorphism/variations
E.g,
* CAGGATAGGCATG
* CAGGATTGGCATG
What are Structural variations?
Copy number variation (CNV)
- range from about one kilobase to several megabases in size.
- Genes may be involved.
- Phenotypic consequences may occur.
≈ 9–15% of heritable variation in gene expression is due to copy number variation.
What are Differences between human genomes?
- 0.1% in SNP/SNVs
- 0.4% in CNVs
=> Altogether: 0.5% - Between individuals, separated historically long ago from each other, the difference can be as high as 2-3%.
- Large genomic rearrangements
Can monozygotic twins differ in CNVs?
Monozygotic twins can differ in CNVs.
=> Mutation rate can be high!
By the cause, mutations may be __- (2 things)
- Spontaneous
- Induced by mutagenic agents
What are the mutation hot spots?
CpG islands
=> In mammals 70% of CpG cytosines are methylated (regulation of DNA functions, see epigenetics)
List the causes of these DNA damage
- Radio- and chemo- therapy
- UV-light
- Replication errors
- Alkylating agent
- ROS
What are the results of these DNA-damage causes
- Double strand break
- Helix distorting damage
- Mismatch, deletion, insertion
- O6 - alkyl - guanin
- Single-strand break
Name these repair systems
- DSB repair system
- Nucleotide excision repair
- Mistmatch repair
- Direct reversal
- Single-strand break repair
- Base excision repair
Name these types of DNA damage
- Double strand helix break
- Helix distorting
- Mistmatch, deletion, insertion
- O6 - alkyl - guanin
- Single-strand break
Cell Cycle Checkpoints
1. What is the role of metaphase checkpoint?
Check for:
- Chromosome spindle attachment
Cell Cycle Checkpoints
2. What is the role of G2 checkpoint?
Check for:
- Cell size
- DNA replication
Cell Cycle Checkpoints
3. What is the role of G1 checkpoint?
Check for:
- Nutrients
- Growth factors
- DNA damage
Diseases caused by errors in the DNA repair
1. What are the examples of Diseases caused by errors in the DNA repair
- ATM = Ataxia telangiectasia
- Li-Fraumeni syndrome
Diseases caused by errors in the DNA repair
2. Describe ATM = Ataxia telangiectasia
- Mutation in ATM causes rare, neurodegenerative, inherited disease (AR), that affects many parts of the body and causes severe disability, characterized by radiosensitivity and different tumors.
- Telangiectasias, also known as spider veins, are small dilated blood vessels near the surface of the skin
Diseases caused by errors in the DNA repair
3. Describe Li-Fraumeni Syndrome
- Characterized by development of multiple cancers throughout one’s life.
- Inheritance: Autosomal dominant
- Gene: TP53
- Lifetime risk of cancer
DNA repair mechanisms
1. What are the 2 DNA repair mechanisms?
- Direct repair
- Excision repair
DNA repair mechanisms
2. What are the characteristics of repair mechanisms?
- Repair mechanisms: nuclear but not mitochondrial DNA
- During life more mutations are accumulated in the mitochondrial DNA which is one of the mechanisms of aging
DNA repair mechanisms
3. Describe direct repair
- the change is reversed
- no template is needed
- mainly in prokaryotes
DNA repair mechanisms
4. Describe excision repair
- template is needed
- in eukaryotes
How does Correction of DNA errors occur?
- DNA polymerase with with proofreading ability
- Mismatch repair
Name of the disease caused by the defective nucleotide excision repair enzymes
Xeroderma pigmentosum
Describe Lynch syndrome
- Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) or Lynch syndrome is caused by failure in mismatch repair
- Autosomal dominant
- 7 different genes
- Earlier (44 y) than non-hereditary colon cancer
- One of the most frequent inherited disorder
How do we Repair double strand breaks (DSB)?
What are the characteristics of Somatic mutations?
- Arise in somatic cells
- Passed on to other somatic cells but not to next generation
- Effect of these mutations depends on the cell type & the developmental stage of the organism
- The majority of cancer is caused by somatic mutations.
- Usually several mutations are needed for tumor development.
What are the 2 types of somatic mutations?
- Driver mutation: confers a selective growth advantage
- Passenger mutation: has no effect on the fitness of a clone