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Heritability.
The proportion of the variance in a particular trait that can be attributed to genetic variations in a given population.
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Alternate splicing
Natural usage of different sets of splice junction sequences, to produce more than one protein product from a single gene.
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Assortative mating
- Non-random mating.
- Could choose similar or dissimilar partners.
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Dominance
A dominant allele produces the same phenotype in an individual regardless of whether one or two copies of this allele are present.
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D4DR
- The gene that codes for the D4 receptor for dopamine.
- Known to have variant forms within the normal population and it has been a candidate for the trait of novelty seeking etc.
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Epigenetics
The study of modifications (eg. methylation of DNA) that affect the expression of genes without changing the DNA sequence.
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Epistasis
- Non-additive interaction between genes at different loci. Ie. cases where the effect of one gene depends on another.
- One of the factors that complicate estimates of heritability derived by comparing MZ and DZ twins.
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Genotype
Particular combination of alleles that an individual has at a particular locus.
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Allele
An alternative form of a particular gene
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Heterozygote
Individual who has two different versions of a given gene. (Different alleles at the same loci for the two chromosomes)
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Intron
DNA sequence within a gene that is transcribed into mRNA but is spliced out before translation into protein.
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Knock-out
An animal (almost always a mouse) from which a particular gene has been removed, as a way of inferring the function of the gene.
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Messenger RNA
RNA that carries - from the nucleus of the cell to the ribosomes - a template for synthesis of protein.
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Nucleotide
A component of DNA corresponding to the basic element of the genetic code - made up of sugar, base and phosphate.
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Polymorphism
- a) The presence in a population of more than one form of a given feature or trait
- b) The presence of two or more versions (alleles) of a given gene
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Promoter region
- A region outside the coding part of a gene, but usually nearby and upstream, that controls the amount, time and place of expression of the gene.
- RNA polymerase binds to the promoter region to initiate transcription of the gene.
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Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
The presence of alternative nucleotides at a particular position in the sequence of a gene.
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Transcription
Construction of mRNA from a section of DNA that serves as a template.
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Translation
Conversion of mRNA to protein by assembling amino acids into a chain.
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Trait
Any feature or behavioural property in which a given species varies.
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Triplet repeat expansion disorder
- Class of disorders where a specific sequence of 3 bases is expanded to a length that produces a dysfunctional phenotype.
- eg. Huntington disease, Fragile X Syndrome
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Whole-genome association study
- A research study in which
- a) individuals are scored for some phenotypic characteristic or medical condition and
- b) their genomes are probed at 1 million or more SNPs, in order to establish correlations between particular characteristics and particular genetic variants.
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Variable number tandem repeat (VNTR)
A short sequence of nucleotides is repeated a number of times.
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What is genetic linkage?
Genetic linkage is the tendency of alleles that are located close together on a chromosome to be inherited together during meiosis.
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