Which are the Primary Tools of Genetic Analysis?

What is a carrier of a genetic trait?

What impact has recombinant DNA technology had on genetics and society?

Pedigree Analysis Is a Basic Method in Human Genetic: What are the reasons that pedigree charts are used?

Pedigree Analysis Is a Basic Method in Human Genetics Using the pedigree provided, answer the following questions. a. Is the proband male or female? b. Is the grandfather of the proband affected? c. How many siblings does the proband have, and where is he or she in the birth order?

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?

What is population genetics?

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY Imagine that you are a genetic counselor. What advice or suggestions might you give in the following situations? (a) A couple has come for advice because the woman had a sister who died of Tay-Sachs disease. (b) A young man and woman who are not related are engaged to be married. However, they have learned that the mans parents are first cousins, and they are worried about the possibility of increased risk of genetic defects in their own children. (c) A young womans paternal uncle (her fathers brother) has hemophilia A. Her father is free of the disease, and there has never been a case of hemophilia A in her mothers family. Should she be concerned about the possibility of hemophilia A in her own children? (d) A 20-year-old man is seeking counseling because his father was recently diagnosed with Huntingtons disease. (e) A 45-year-old woman has just been diagnosed with Huntingtons disease. She says she will not tell her college-age sons because of the burden it will place on them. Given that the woman, not her sons, is your client, do you have a duty to inform the sons? Explain your reasoning.