Mutation Flashcards
What is a mutation?
A stable, heritable alteration to the genetic material
What is a mutagen?
Any chemical capable of inducing heritable changes to the genetic material
What type of mutations are passed on?
Germline mutations
What is the background mutation rate caused by?
Spontaneous mutation
What is induced mutation?
Mutations caused by external agent or mutagen, such as radiation or noxious chemicals that increase mutation rate above background rate
What do somatic mutations have an impact on? 2
- Ageing
- Cancer (activation of oncogenes or inactivation of tumour supressor genes)
How many inherited defects are there in humans?
Over 3000
List 4 recessive diseases
- CF
- Thalassemia
- Tay Sachs disease
- Sickle cell Anemia
What happens in CF?
Breakdown in iron channels in the lung and pancrease lead to defects in functioning of the lung and excretion of enzymes by the pancrease
What does Thalassemia provide?
Malaria resistance
Where does the mutation for Albinism normally occur?
Early on in the Melanin chemical pathway in the tyrosinase causing no melanin to be produced
Name two dominant disorders
- Huntington’s
- Polycsytic kidney disease
Name 2 x-linked disorders
- DMD
- Haemophilia A
List 5 inherited cancer predispositions
- Li-Fraumeni (p53)
- BRCA 1 & 2
- HNPCC (mismatch repair system)
- Xerogerma pigmentosum (excision repair system)
- Retinoblastoma (pRb)
Functionally recessive but inherited in a dominant fashion
What is a complex disorder?
Many genes acting together. Recessive or dominant affect. Low penetrance
What are polymorphisms?
Fixed mutation at a frequency of >2%
What are Copy Number Variations (CNVs)?
Large portions of DNA that different from person to person (can be repetitive DNA)
List 4 systems that mutations can derive from
- Replication - rate of error incorporation
- Recombination - gene conversion
- Repair - efficacy of repair
- Metabolism - oxygen species can be mutagenic
What are gross mutations?
Chromosomal in scope - deletions, inversion and translocations
Non-Disjunction mutations
Errors in chromosomal segregation - one daughter cell ends up with too many or not enough chromosomes
5 disorders caused by Non-Disjunction trisomy
- Edwards’ Syndrome
- Down’s Syndrome
- Patau’s Syndrome
- Klinefelter’s Syndrome
- Triple X
2 disorders caused by Non-Disjunction deletions
- Turner’s Syndrome
- Cri du Chat
What is an important gene deleted in Cri du Chat?
TERT (telomerase reverse transcription) which is important for telomere function
When does Non-Disjunction occur most?
During Meiosis I