Elioth Gomez Pr.2 AP Bio Essay Question: 29.

) Assume that a particular genetic condition in a mammalian species causes an inability to digest starch. This disorder occurs with equal frequency in males and females. In most cases, neither parent of affected offspring has the condition. a. Describe the most probable pattern of inheritance for this condition. Explain your reasoning. Include in your discussion a sample cross(es) sufficient to verify your proposed pattern. b. Explain how a mutation could cause this inability to digest starch. c. Describe how modern techniques of molecular biology could be used to determine whether the mutant allele is present in a given individual. The most probable pattern of inheritance for this condition would be recessive because the parents are not affected but the offspring is. They are most likely carriers for the inability to digest starch. Since both parents are carriers, they are able to pass on the gene to their offsprings; this would result in full expression of the gene. If one parent is a carrier and the other is Dominant the offspring may inherit the allele but doesnt express the gene. One can use a Punnett Square, monohybrid cross to determine the probable pattern of inheritance for this condition. S will be used as the dominant allele that does not express the inability to digest starch; the s is recessive and will represent the inability to digest starch. One probable pattern of inheritance would be to cross two heterozygous alleles this example shows that both the parents carry the condition, but is not dominant. The probability when crossing the two heterozygous parents would be a 25% that their child will express the gene, the child inherited both the recessive alleles (ss), wont be able to digest starch. Two of their children will carry the s allele. Two of those four children will be able to digest starch, because they also have the dominant allele S, which determines that they are not affected with this condition. The fourth child will receive two dominant alleles and does not carry the condition. A second probable pattern of inheritance is to a homozygous dominant parent SS cross with a heterozygous parent Ss. In this example, when the homozygous dominant gene is crossed with a heterozygous gene, there is a 25% probability that their child will carry the s allele but will express the condition, because the s is recessive. There is a 75% probability that one of the offspring will not carry the condition because the offsprings inherited the two dominant S alleles, and therefore will not carry the s allele.

Two heterozygous cross:

Heterozygous X Homozygous

Mutations are changes in a DNA sequence. There are three types of point mutations, which are base-pair subsitution, insertion and deletion. The base pair substitutions are missense, nonsense, and sense mutations. Missense mutations have altered codons, but still code for a message, but not necessarily the right amino acid. Nonsense mutations change the codon sequence to make it read the stop codons, UGA, UAG, and UAA. Sense mutations change the codon from a stop codon to a start codon (AUG). Sense mutations result in longer polypeptides, and nonsense mutation may cause shorter polypeptides. Insertion mutation adds a base, and deletion removes a base or codon. These types of mutations cause frame shift mutations, which may alter the reading frame of a gene. Mutations can cause the inability to digest starch. To digest starch an enzyme, which are made out of amino acids. By changing the sequence of DNA, there maybe an area that codes for the enzyme that digest starch, when alternated the gene may no longer code for the production of that enzyme. With this disruption no transcription or translation would occur for that enzyme. A modern technique of molecular biology that could be used to determine whether the mutant allele is present is DNA fingerprinting. For every 1,000 nucleotides inherited, there a polymorphism. These DNA polymorphisms change the length of the DNA fragments produced by the digestion of restriction enzymes. The exact number and size of fragments produced by a specific restriction enzyme digestion varies for an individual. The resulting fragments, called Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms can be separated and their size determined by electrophoresis. These restriction enzymes that flank these repeating sequences cut the DNA strand creating RFLPs. The differences in the fragments can be quantified to create a DNA fingerprint. Distinct RFLP patterns can be used to identify a mutation in an individual.