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ABC for the AEA. Basic biological concepts for genetic epidemiology. Martin Kennedy Department of Pathology Christchurch School of Medicine. Topics. DNA, chromosomes & genes Transcription and translation Sex, meiosis, and all that Mendelian inheritance Molecular biology methods
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ABC for the AEA Basic biological concepts for genetic epidemiology Martin Kennedy Department of Pathology Christchurch School of Medicine
Topics DNA, chromosomes & genes Transcription and translation Sex, meiosis, and all that Mendelian inheritance Molecular biology methods Types of DNA variation
Eukaryotic genes are split • Exons - fused to form mRNA • Introns - spliced out of mRNA • (intron = intervening sequence)
Genome statistics 3 billion basepairs 5-10% coding sequences 23 pairs of chromosomes 50-60% repeats
promoter transcription nuclear RNA AAAAAA splicing 3’ UTR 5’ UTR messenger RNA AAAAAA AUG TAG Typical gene structure
Definitions GeneA functional unit of inheritance GenomeAll of the genetic material in the chromosomes of an organism AlleleAlternative forms of a gene or marker due to changes at the DNA level LocusThe physical location of a gene Genotype The specific alleles present for a given gene or set of genes HaplotypeA particular combination of alleles in a specific region of a chromosome
Mitosis Daughter cells Meiosis Gametes Cell divisions
Recombination Meiosis Gametes
Mendel’s laws Good for peas, people and anything else that has sex Segregation: The reproductive cells of hybrids randomly transmit either one or the other of paired parental alleles to their offspring. The alleles are unchanged during passage through each generation. Independence: When individuals with different alleles of more than one gene are crossed, alleles of each gene are assorted into the offspring (segregated) independently of the others. This law applies only when there is no linkage between the genes.
Mendelian inheritance • Mendelian conditions generally have a monogenic basis - “causative genes” • Complex disease is polygenic or multifactorial - “susceptibility genes”
Mendelian inheritance Autosomal dominant
Mendelian inheritance Autosomal recessive
Mendelian inheritance X-linked recessive
Molecular biology methods • Nucleic acid collection • Nucleic acid hybridization • Restriction enzymes • Electrophoresis • Southern blots • Polymerase chain reaction • DNA sequencing
Nucleic acid collection • Blood sample • Buccal swabs • Blood spot on paper • Tissue sample
Nucleic acid hybridization The 2 DNA strands can be dissociated by heat or alkali Complementary strands will reanneal during cooling or under neutral conditions Reannealing is highly specific: only complementary sequences will anneal
Restriction enzymes ---GATTGAG GATCCTTATAT--- ---CTAACTCCTAG GAATATA--- ---GATTGAGGATCCTTATAT--- ---CTAACTCCTAGGAATATA--- ---GATTGAGGATCCTTATAT--- ---CTAACTCCTAGGAATATA--- EcoRI recognition site
Molecular biology methods (demos) Southern blot Polymerase chain reaction
DNA variation -Polymorphisms occur at more than 1% -Mutations occur at less than 1% • Chromosomal loss, gain or rearrangements • Deletions • Insertions • Inversions • Point mutations/polymorphisms • Trinucleotide repeats (expansions)
transcription nuclear RNA AAAAAA AAAAAA splicing AUG TAG 3’ UTR 5’ UTR messenger RNA DNA variants can occur anywhere in the genome * * * * * * *
DNA variants • Polymorphisms and mutations are the basis of genetic diversity • Polymorphisms provide markers with which we can track the inheritance of chromosomal regions and genes
DNA markers • Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) • Variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) • Microsatellites or short tandem repeats (STRs) • Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs)
691bp 527bp 164bp Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) Exon 3 691bp 527bp 164bp AvaII • Maximum of two alleles • Of limited use for linkage • Commonly used in association analysis • Detected by blot or PCR
Variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs) • Tandem repeats of between 14 and 100bp in length • Multiple alleles • Detected by blot or PCR • Of limited application
Microsatellites or short tandem repeats (STRs) • Detected by PCR • Multiple alleles • Widely used in linkage analysis • Detected by PCR