EMS Flashcards
(135 cards)
What is a nucleosome?
200 base pairs of double stranded DNA wrapped around a histone core octamer
Describe the mitochondrial genome
Circular, cytoplasmic material inherited via oocyte cytoplasm
What its satellite DNA?
Large blocks of repetitive sequence heterochromatin, tenderly repeated sequences with possible polymorphic blocks
- alphoid DNA 171bp repeat unit required for centromere assembly
What are interspersed repeats?
Alu repeats
- Scattered around the genome, individual copies at many locations
- Short interspaced nuclear element
- Dispersed into retro transposition
What is a de novo mutation?
A new mutation which has occurred during gametogenesis - parents are not affected and do not have the mutation in their somatic tissue
What is anticipation?
Symptoms of a genetic disorder becoming more severe as the gene is passed on through each generation
What is Mocaicism?
A new mutation occurrence post-zygotically
- distribution of mutant cells is unpredictable and could involve lethal mutations if non-mosaic
Describe Sanger sequencing
- Use PCR as a template DNA in the reaction
- Template DNA, nucleotides and polymerase to reaction (+primer)
- Add dye terminator nucleotides (ddNTPs) to terminate the sequence reaction labelled with fluorescent dyes
- cycle through denaturing, annealing and extension 35 times
- DNA will be different lengths due to random incorporation of terminator bases and separate as they leave the capillary based on their size
- Excited with a laser and each dye gives off a different signal which can be collected and decoded
Describe next generation sequencing
- Clonal sequencing machines which sheer the DNA wanted and make small clones using PCR onto a flow cell
- Similar to Sanger
- Sequencing reads are small (150bp)
Describe whole exome sequencing
- Generate an exam library - sheer genomic DNA, amplify, tag, hybridise it with a library of probes matching axons in the genome
- have small magnetic bead on the end so we can pull out the sequences that have hybridised
- Go into standard ilumino ex gen sequencing to produce the sequencing reads
Describe comparative genome Hybridisation (aCGH)
- Standard reference DNA and patient DNA
- Cut and label with patient DNA green fluorescent dye and reference DNA with red dye
- Hybridise it to an array - lots of probes and expand genome
- if equal red and green = yellow
- can see different quantities of DNA but not where it is in the genome
What is the dosage effect?
Copy number variation, CNV - loss usually worse phenotype than gain
Types:
- Aneuploidy, polyploidy
- Chromosome structure - deletion/duplication
- Mosaicism
What is the position effect?
Gene in a new chromosomal environment functions inappropriately - unmasking of a recessive disorder
What are the three viable trisomy’s?
Trisomy 13 - patau syndrome
- microcephaly, holoprosencephaly, cleating, polydactyly
Trisomy 18 - Edward’s Syndrome
- microcephaly, growth retardation, rocker-bottom feet, clenched hands and cardiac abnormalities
Trisomy 21 - Down’s syndrome
- Aneuploidy, resulting from meiotic errors, strong maternal age effect, little or no paternal effect
Describe Polyploidy
- Errors at fertilisation, most usually triploidy
- Parental origin effect
Describe reciprocal translocation?
- Breaks and exchanges of chromosomes
- Stem from meiotic errors in segregation and can produced unbalance gametes
- Pachytene cross
Describe Robertson Translocation
- Whole arm fusion
- Acrocentrics - short arm loss
- No phenotype, reproductive risk
- Full genetic makeup just 45 chromosomes not 46
What are 4 types of normal genetic variations?
- Single nucleotide polymorphisms
- INDEL’s - insertion or deletion of one or more nucleotides
- SNP + INDEL’s - target site for nuclease enzymes - restriction fragment length polymorphisms RELPs
- CNVs - large indwells change copy number of sequence greater than 100 nucleotides in length
Describe allelic heterogeneity
Different pathogenic variants in a single gene leading to multiple different phenotypes
Describe a point mutation
Mutation that effects a single nucleotide
- most common cause of disease
Describe variant consequences
Protein effect: - No effect - Exchange for reference amino acid for alternate - Null effect - complete absence of the genes protein product People Effect: - No effect - Contribution to individual variation - Cause of mendelian disease - Contribution to normal disease
Describe missense mutation
- DNA change
- Incorporation of different amino acid at that position substitution
- effect on protein depends on the degree of difference between the reference and substituted amino acids
- Conservative - substitution within the same group
- Non-conservative - amino acid substitution to one in a different group
Describe Null Variants
- Nonsense
- Frameshift
- Canonical splice site variants - occur at the boundary of an exon and intron impacting splicing
- Loss of start codon
- Single exon or multiexon deletion
Describe Atheroma
intimal lesion that protrudes into vessel wall
- Raised lesion with soft core of lipid (Mainly cholesterol and cholesterol esters) covered by a fibrous cap
Commonly affected vessels:
Bifurcations, abdominal aorta, coronary arteries, popliteal arteries, carotid arteries, circle of wills