Title: Part I Chapter Three The Genetic Code From One Cell to Many
1Part I
Chapter Three
The Genetic Code From One Cell to Many From
Genotype to Phenotype Chromosomal and Genetic
Abnormalities
2The Genetic Code
- Genes play a leading role in the drama of human
development, yet they rarely take center stage.
Genes are pervasive and powerful, but they are
also hidden and elusive.
3What Genes Are
- DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
- Molecule that contains the chemical instructions
for cells to manufacture various proteins. - Chromosome
- a molecule of DNA that contains the instructions
to make proteins - Humans have 46 chromosomes (23 pairs), and about
25,000 genes. - Genome
- the code for making a human being
- Every person has a slightly different code, but
the human genome is 99.5 the same for any 2
people.
4What Genes Are
- Genes are as section of chromosomes and the basic
unit for the transmission of heredity, consisting
of a string of chemicals that code for the
manufacture of certain proteins.
5The Beginnings of Life
- development begins at conceptioneach human
reproductive cell or gamete, contains 23
chromosomes, half of that persons 46 - gamete
- A reproductive cell that is, a sperm or ovum
that can produce a new individual if it combines
with a gamete from the other sex to make a zygote
6The Beginnings of Life
- Matching Genes
- conception occurs in the usual way
- zygote
- the single cell formed from the fusing of two
gametes, a sperm and an ovum - genotype
- An organisms entire genetic inheritance, or
genetic potential
7The Beginnings of Life
8From One Cell to Many
- phenotype
- the observable characteristic of a person,
including appearance, personality, intelligence,
and all other traits
9From One Cell to Many
- New Cells, New Functions
- Gene-Gene Interactions
- occurs through cell differentiation, gene-gene
(polygenic), and gene-environment interaction - Multifactorial
- refers to a trait that is affected by many
factors, both genetic and environmental - The Human Genome Project is an international
effort to map the entire human genome - researchers have found that humans have only
about 25,000 genes, 99 of which are present in
the genomes of other creatures as well
10From One Cell to Many
- Additive Heredity
- an allele is a slight, normal variation of a
particular gene - some alleles are
- additive genes combine to make a phenotype
11From One Cell to Many
- Dominant-Recessive Heredity
- the interaction of a pair of alleles in such a
way that the phenotype reveals the influence of
one allele (the dominant gene) more than that of
the other (the recessive gene) - a special case of the dominant-recessive pattern
occurs with genes that are x-linked, located on
the x chromosome
12From One Cell to Many
- More Complications
- A small alteration in the sequence of base pairs
or several extra repetitions in one triplet ma be
inconsequential or may cascade to create a major
problem
13From One Cell to Many
- Twins, Clones, Assisted Reproduction (ART)
- dizygotic (fraternal) twins
- result from two sperm penetrating two ova, and
share 50 of their genes - monozygotic (identical) twins
- originate from one zygote, and share 100 genes
- a clone
- originates from a live organism
- ART
- general term for the technique designed to help
infertile couples conceive and then sustain a
pregnancy
14From One Cell to Many
- Assisted Reproduction (ART)
- general term for the technique designed to help
infertile couples conceive and then sustain a
pregnancy
15From Genotype to Phenotype
- Scientist in many nations have studied thousands
of twins, both monozygotic and dizygotic, raised
together in the same home and raised separately
in different homes
16From Genotype to Phenotype
- Genes affect every aspect of human behavior,
including social and cognitive behavior - Most environmental influences on children raised
in the same home are not shared
17From Genotype to Phenotype
- Each childs genes elicit other peoples
responses, and these responses shape development.
In other words, a childs environment is partly
the result of his or her genes. - Children, adolescents, and especially adults
choose environments that are compatible with
their genes (called niche-picking), and thus
genetic influences in adulthood
18From Genotype to Phenotype
- Carrier
- a person whose genotype includes a gene that is
not expressed in the phenotypesuch an
unexpressed gene occurs in half of the carriers
gametes and thus is passed on to half of the
carriers children, who will most likely be
carriers, too - Generally, only when the gene is inherited from
both parents does the characteristic appear in
the phenotype.
19From Genotype to Phenotype
- Addiction
- inherited biochemistry making people vulnerable
to various addition - any one can abuse drugs or alcoholbut genes
create an addictive pull that can be
overpowering, extremely weak, or somewhere in
between
20From Genotype to Phenotype
- Visual Acuity
- New borns cannot focus more than 2 feet away
- Children see better each year until about age 8
- Many adolescents become nearsighted when eyeball
shape changes - Vision is more likely to improve than to worsen
until age 40
21From Genotype to Phenotype
- Visual Acuity
- In middle age, the elasticity of the lens
decrease and the eyeball shape change again, so
that many people become farsighted and need
reading glasses - Among the old, eye diseases, including cataracts,
are common - About 10 percent of people over age 90 are blind
22From Genotype to Phenotype
- Nearsightedness and Genes
- If children have a vision problem it is most
often myopia (nearsightedness) - Nearsightedness is a symptom in more than 150
genetic syndromes - Caused by physical trauma or illness, such as the
rubella virus, or poor nutrition (such as vitamin
A deficiency - These factors cause high nearsightedness, so
severe that it can lead to blindness
23From Genotype to Phenotype
- Culture and Cohort
- genes are not the major cause of poor vision
- historical and multicultural research finds that
environment also influences nearsightedness - if diet is deficient of vitamin A
24From Genotype to Phenotype
- Practical Application
- developmental application of nature-nurture
interaction - family history of genetic problems
- someone inherited a problem
- alcoholism in the genes
- lack of outdoor play
25From Genotype to Phenotype
- Practical Application
- type 2 diabetes (adult-onset diabetes)
- a chronic disease which the body does not produce
enough insulin to adequately metabolize
carbohydrate (glucose) it typically developed in
people aged 50 - 60today it often appears in
younger people - begins when a person is vulnerable and has more
body fat than is ideal
26From Genotype to Phenotype
27Chromosomal and Genetic Abnormalities
- abnormalities caused by identifiable
problemsthose with an extra chromosome or a
single gene - study of these problems is relevant to the study
of development - providing insight into the complexities of nature
and nurture - knowing their origins helps limit these effects
- information combats the prejudice that surrounds
such problems
28Chromosomal and Genetic Abnormalities
- Not Exactly 46 Chromosomes
- a variable that most often correlates with
chromosomal abnormalities is the age of the
mother - occur not only in the formation of gametes but
also in their early duplication - mosaic is having a condition (mosaicism) that
involves having a mixture of cells, some normal
and some with an odd number of chromosomes or a
sense of missing genes
29Chromosomal and Genetic Abnormalities
- Down Syndrome
- a condition in which a person has 47 chromosomes
instead of the usual 46, with three rather than
two chromosomes at the 21st position - people with Down Syndrome typically have
distinctive characteristics, including unusual
facial features, heart abnormities, and language
difficulties
30Chromosomal and Genetic Abnormalities
- Abnormalities of the 23rd Pair
- humans have at least 44 autosomes and one X
chromosome - an embryo cannot develop without an X chromosome
- an odd number of X chromosomes impairs cognition
and psychosocial development and sexual
maturation - if a child has three sex chromosomes instead of
two he/she may seem normal until puberty
31Chromosomal and Genetic Abnormalities
- Dominant-Gene Disorders
- everyone carries genes or alleles that could
produce serous diseases or handicaps in the next
generation - 7,000 single-gene disorders
- their dominant effects are apparent in the
phenotype
32Chromosomal and Genetic Abnormalities
- Fragile X Syndrome
- a genetic disorder in which part of the X
chromosome seems to be attached to the rest of it
by a very thin string of molecules - the actual cause is too many repetitions of a
particular part of a genes code
33Chromosomal and Genetic Abnormalities
- Recessive-Gene Disorder
- most recessive disorders are not X-linked
- double recessive patterns are lethalone
recessive gene is protective - sometimes a person who carried a lethal gene has
many descendants who marry each other the
genetic disease then becomes common in that group
34Chromosomal and Genetic Abnormalities
- Genetic Counseling and Testing
- consultation and testing by trained experts that
enable individuals to learn about their genetic
heritage, including harmful conditions that they
might pass along to any children they may
conceive
35Chromosomal and Genetic Abnormalities
- Who Should Get Counseling, and When?
- genetic counseling
- consultation and testing by trained experts that
enable individuals to learn about their genetic
heritage, including harmful conditions that they
might pass along to any children they may
conceive
36Chromosomal and Genetic Abnormalities
- Is knowledge Always Power?
- Genetic counselors, scientist, and the general
public usually favor testing - having some information is better than having
none - high risk individuals (who might hear bad news)
do not always want to know - the truth might jeopardize their marriage, their
insurance coverage, or their chance of parenthood
37Chromosomal and Genetic Abnormalities
- Coping with Uncertainty
- much is uncertain in genetic testing and
counseling - those who learn that they have a harmful dominant
gene have new information, as well as new
uncertainties - interaction of genes and the environment makes
development overt the life span unpredictable,
even if the genes are known