Show What You Know: Traits In your own words, explain the relationship between DNA, proteins and the resulting traits of an organism. Provide evidence from today's lab on how this was observed: 0/ 10000 Word Limit

Pedigree analysis is a fundamental tool for investigating whether or not a trait is following a Mendelian pattern of inheritance. It can also be used to help identify individuals within a family who may be at risk for the trait. Adam and Sarah, a young couple of Eastern European Jewish ancestry, went to a genetic counselor because they were planning a family and wanted to know what their chances were for having a child with a genetic condition. The genetic counselor took a detailed family history from both of them and discovered several traits in their respective families. Sarahs maternal family history is suggestive of an autosomal dominant pattern of cancer predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer because of the young ages at which her mother and grandmother were diagnosed with their cancers. If a mutant allele that predisposed to breast and ovarian cancer was inherited in Sarahs family, she, her sister, and any of her own future children could be at risk for inheriting this mutation. The counselor told her that genetic testing is available that may help determine if this mutant allele is present in her family members. Adams paternal family history has a very strong pattern of early onset heart disease. An autosomal dominant condition known as familial hypercholesterolemia may be responsible for the large number of deaths from heart disease. As with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, genetic testing is available to see if Adam carries the mutant allele. Testing will give the couple more information about the chances that their children could inherit this mutation. Adam had a first cousin who died from Tay-Sachs disease (TSD), a fatal autosomal recessive condition most commonly found in people of Eastern European Jewish descent. Because TSD is a recessively inherited disorder, both of his cousins parents must have been heterozygous carriers of the mutant allele. If that is the case, Adams father could be a carrier as well. If Adams father carries the mutant TSD allele, it is possible that Adam inherited this mutation. Because Sarah is also of Eastern European Jewish ancestry, she could also be a carrier of the gene, even though no one in her family has been affected with TSD. If Adam and Sarah are both carriers, each of their children would have a 25% chance of being afflicted with TSD. A simple blood test performed on both Sarah and Adam could determine whether they are carriers of this mutation. If Sarah carries the mutant cancer allele and Adam carries the mutant heart disease allele, what is the chance that they would have a child who is free of both diseases? Are these good odds?

Pedigree analysis is a fundamental tool for investigating whether or not a trait is following a Mendelian pattern of inheritance. It can also be used to help identify individuals within a family who may be at risk for the trait. Adam and Sarah, a young couple of Eastern European Jewish ancestry, went to a genetic counselor because they were planning a family and wanted to know what their chances were for having a child with a genetic condition. The genetic counselor took a detailed family history from both of them and discovered several traits in their respective families. Sarahs maternal family history is suggestive of an autosomal dominant pattern of cancer predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer because of the young ages at which her mother and grandmother were diagnosed with their cancers. If a mutant allele that predisposed to breast and ovarian cancer was inherited in Sarahs family, she, her sister, and any of her own future children could be at risk for inheriting this mutation. The counselor told her that genetic testing is available that may help determine if this mutant allele is present in her family members. Adams paternal family history has a very strong pattern of early onset heart disease. An autosomal dominant condition known as familial hypercholesterolemia may be responsible for the large number of deaths from heart disease. As with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, genetic testing is available to see if Adam carries the mutant allele. Testing will give the couple more information about the chances that their children could inherit this mutation. Adam had a first cousin who died from Tay-Sachs disease (TSD), a fatal autosomal recessive condition most commonly found in people of Eastern European Jewish descent. Because TSD is a recessively inherited disorder, both of his cousins parents must have been heterozygous carriers of the mutant allele. If that is the case, Adams father could be a carrier as well. If Adams father carries the mutant TSD allele, it is possible that Adam inherited this mutation. Because Sarah is also of Eastern European Jewish ancestry, she could also be a carrier of the gene, even though no one in her family has been affected with TSD. If Adam and Sarah are both carriers, each of their children would have a 25% chance of being afflicted with TSD. A simple blood test performed on both Sarah and Adam could determine whether they are carriers of this mutation. Would you want to know the results of the cancer, heart disease, and TSD tests if you were Sarah and Adam? Is it their responsibility as potential parents to gather this type of information before they decide to have a child?

Pedigree analysis is a fundamental tool for investigating whether or not a trait is following a Mendelian pattern of inheritance. It can also be used to help identify individuals within a family who may be at risk for the trait. Adam and Sarah, a young couple of Eastern European Jewish ancestry, went to a genetic counselor because they were planning a family and wanted to know what their chances were for having a child with a genetic condition. The genetic counselor took a detailed family history from both of them and discovered several traits in their respective families. Sarahs maternal family history is suggestive of an autosomal dominant pattern of cancer predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer because of the young ages at which her mother and grandmother were diagnosed with their cancers. If a mutant allele that predisposed to breast and ovarian cancer was inherited in Sarahs family, she, her sister, and any of her own future children could be at risk for inheriting this mutation. The counselor told her that genetic testing is available that may help determine if this mutant allele is present in her family members. Adams paternal family history has a very strong pattern of early onset heart disease. An autosomal dominant condition known as familial hypercholesterolemia may be responsible for the large number of deaths from heart disease. As with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, genetic testing is available to see if Adam carries the mutant allele. Testing will give the couple more information about the chances that their children could inherit this mutation. Adam had a first cousin who died from Tay-Sachs disease (TSD), a fatal autosomal recessive condition most commonly found in people of Eastern European Jewish descent. Because TSD is a recessively inherited disorder, both of his cousins parents must have been heterozygous carriers of the mutant allele. If that is the case, Adams father could be a carrier as well. If Adams father carries the mutant TSD allele, it is possible that Adam inherited this mutation. Because Sarah is also of Eastern European Jewish ancestry, she could also be a carrier of the gene, even though no one in her family has been affected with TSD. If Adam and Sarah are both carriers, each of their children would have a 25% chance of being afflicted with TSD. A simple blood test performed on both Sarah and Adam could determine whether they are carriers of this mutation. Would you decide to have a child if the test results said that you carry the mutation for breast and ovarian cancer? The heart disease mutation? The TSD mutation? The heart disease and the mutant alleles?

Pedigree Analysis Is a Basic Method in Human Genetics Pedigree analysis permits all of the following except: a. an orderly presentation of family information b. the determination of whether a trait is genetic c. the determination of whether a trait is dominant or recessive d. an understanding of which gene is involved in a heritable disorder e. the determination of whether a trait is sex-linked or autosomal

When the human genome sequence was finally completed, scientists were surprised to discover that the genome contains far fewer genes than expected. How many genes are present in the human genome? Scientists have also found that there are many more different kinds of proteins in human cells than there are different genes in the genome. How can this be explained?

What additional biological questions can be answered if one has the complete sequence of an organisms genome as compared with the sequences of individual genes?

Improving the nutritional value of food has long been one of the goals in agricultural genetics. Crossing different strains of plants and animals followed by generations of artificial selection have yielded some successes, including the development of high-protein maize. The use of gene transfer biotechnology has led to other advances, including the creation of nutritionally enhanced rice to combat vitamin A deficiency and blindness. Researchers are now turning their attention to the nutritional enhancement of animals that are used as food. Scientists are now turning their attention to using gene transfer technology to nutritionally enhance animal foods. Recently, biotechnology was used to produce a sheep with increased amounts of an omega-3 essential fatty acid that plays an important role in the development of the nervous system and, in adults, reduces the risk of coronary artery disease. Once a small number of transgenic animals have been produced, they can be bred by conventional methods to establish a source of nutritionally enhanced meat and milk. The use of biotechnology is presenting consumers with many new choices, which will become more common in the future. Increasingly, we will all have to educate ourselves about the pros and cons of such decisions. How would you explain your decision to eat nutritionally enhanced meat from animals modified by biotechnology?

Improving the nutritional value of food has long been one of the goals in agricultural genetics. Crossing different strains of plants and animals followed by generations of artificial selection have yielded some successes, including the development of high-protein maize. The use of gene transfer biotechnology has led to other advances, including the creation of nutritionally enhanced rice to combat vitamin A deficiency and blindness. Researchers are now turning their attention to the nutritional enhancement of animals that are used as food. Scientists are now turning their attention to using gene transfer technology to nutritionally enhance animal foods. Recently, biotechnology was used to produce a sheep with increased amounts of an omega-3 essential fatty acid that plays an important role in the development of the nervous system and, in adults, reduces the risk of coronary artery disease. Once a small number of transgenic animals have been produced, they can be bred by conventional methods to establish a source of nutritionally enhanced meat and milk. The use of biotechnology is presenting consumers with many new choices, which will become more common in the future. Increasingly, we will all have to educate ourselves about the pros and cons of such decisions. On the other hand, how would you explain your preference for meat from animals without higher levels of beneficial fatty acids?

The Joneses were referred to a clinical geneticist because their 6-month-old daughter was failing to grow adequately and was having recurrent infections. The geneticist took a detailed family history (which was uninformative) and a medical history of their daughter. He discovered that their daughter had a history of a constant cough and wheeze that was becoming progressively worse, had difficulty gaining weight (failure to thrive), and had an extensive history of yeast infection (thrush) in her mouth. The geneticist did a simple blood test to check their daughters white blood count and determined that she had severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID). The geneticist explained that SCID is an immune deficiency that causes a marked susceptibility to infections. The defining characteristic is usually a severe defect in both the T- and B-lymphocyte systems. This results in one or more infections within the first few months of life that are serious and may even be life-threatening. Based on the family history, it was possible that their daughter had inherited a mutant allele from each of them and therefore was homozygous for a gene that causes SCID. If so, each time the Joneses had a child, there would be a 25% chance that the child would have SCID. Prenatal testing is available to determine whether the developing fetus has SCID. If the Joneses want to be certain that their next child will not have SCID, what types of reproductive options do you think they have?