Variation in chromosome structure and number - Deletions and duplications

20 important questions on Variation in chromosome structure and number - Deletions and duplications

Which 2 types of deletions are there?

- Terminal deletion: a normal chromosome has broken into two pieces (the one without centromere is degraded);
- Interstitial deletion: a chromosome has broken into two places (the central fragment is lost and the two outer pieces reattach to each other).

An example of an abnormal crossover event is a misaligned crossover between two identical repetitive sequences that are on a different site on the chromosome. How is this kind of abnormal crossover called?

Nonallelic homologous recombination (because it has occurred at homologous sites (repetitive sequence), but the sites are not alleles of the same gene.

The majority of gene duplications have no phenotypic effect. However, over the course of many generations, to what can they lead?

The copies of a gene can accumulate different mutations. After many generations, the genes are not identical anymore, which is called the formation of a 'gene family'.
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What is copy number variation (CNV)?

Variation in which a segment of DNA commonly exhibits copy number differences among members of the same species.

What can cause a CNV?

Some members of a species carry a chromosome that is missing a gene or they have a duplication of a gene.

What is a segmental duplication?

A homolog with two copies of one particular gene (figure 8.8).

What is comparative genomic hybridization (CGH)?

A technique that is used to determine if cancer cells have changes in chromosome structure. DNA from cancer cells and DNA from normal cells are fluorescently labeled and mixed with metaphase chromosomes. Then the green to red ratio is determined.

Which 2 types of inversions are there?

- Pericentric inversion: the centromere lies within the inverted region of the chromosome;
- Paracentric inversion: the centromere lies outside the inverted region of the chromosome.

Most of the time, an inversion does not have phenotypic consequences. In which 2 situation does the inversion have phenotypic consequences?

- When the breakpoint occurs within a vital gene;
- When a gene on a chromosome is repositioned in a way that alters its normal level of expression (for example, when its new position is near a heterochromatin region, it is much less expressed than it has to). This is called 'position effect'.

Inversion rarely has phenotypic consequences. However, people with inversion have a high probability of ... ?

Producing abnormal chromosomes due to crossing over.

What happens when crossover occurs within the inversion loop?

Highly abnormal chromosomes are produced, for example a chromosome with a deletion and one with a duplication.

When a dicentric chromosome and an acentric chromosome is formed at crossing over, what is the final result?

One normal chromosome, one chromosome with an inversion (the one that wasn't participating in the crossing over), and two chromosomes with deletions (because of the breakage of the dicentric chromosome). The acentric fragment is lost and degraded.

What is a reactive end of a chromosome?

When a chromosome is broken, the broken ends lack telomeres. The reactive end readily binds to an other reactive end.

What are two ways a translocation can occur?

- Two different chromosomes break and are joined incorrectly by DNA repair enzymes, which causes a reciprocal translocation.
- Sometimes crossover occurs between nonhomologous chromosomes, which results in a reciprocal translocation.

What are balanced translocations?

Translocations in which the total amount of genetic material is not altered (sometimes they can result in position effects like with inversions).

What are unbalanced translocations?

Translocations in which significant portions of genetic material are duplicated and/or deleted.

Of what is familial Down syndrome an example?

Of how a person with a balanced translocations may produce gametes and offspring with an unbalanced translocation (in this case: 3 long arms of chromosome 21).

What is Robertsonian translocation?

A translocation that arises from breaks near the centromeres of two nonhomologous acrocentric chromosomes, and the long arms have fused and the short arms are lost.

What is a translation cross?

An unusual structure that forms during meiosis because of a translocation in two chromosomes. During meiosis, the homologous chromosomes attempt to synapse with each other, but because of the translocation, a cross-like structure appears.

In which three ways can the chromosomes within the translocation cross be segregated?

- Alternate segregation: one daughter cell gets two normal chromosomes, and the other gets two chromosomes with a translocation;
- Adjacent-1-segregation: each daughter cell gets a chromosome with a translocation;
- Adjacent-2-segregation: an abnormal, rare segregation in which one daughter cell gets both copies of the centromere on chromosome 1 and the other gets both copies of the centromere on chromosome 2.

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