Monday 17 August 2020

Chromosomal Aberration (Part II)

 

To access and download PowerPoint presentation on 'Chromosomal Aberration' click on the link below:


NUMERICAL CHANGES OF CHROMOSOME

 The changes in the number of chromosomes are usually described as variations in the ploidy of the organism.

 Organisms with one or more complete sets of chromosomes are said to be euploid.

 Organisms that carry more than two sets of chromosomes are said to be polyploid and the level of polyploidy is described by referring to a basic chromosome number, usually denoted n.

      Haploids: carry a single set of chromosomes (n)

      Diploids: carry two chromosome sets (2n)

      Triploids: carry three chromosome sets (3n)

      Tetraploids: carry four chromosome sets (4n)

• An individual of a normally diploid species that has only one chromosome set is called a monoploid to distinguish it from an individual of a normally haploid species (n).


POLYPOIDS AND ANEUPLOIDS:

• Organisms in which a particular chromosome, or chromosome segment, is under- or overrepresented are said to be aneuploid. These organisms usually suffer from genetic imbalance.

 Aneuploidy refers to a numerical change in part of the genome, usually just a single chromosome, whereas polyploidy refers to a numerical change in a whole set of chromosomes.

 Aneuploidy implies a genetic imbalance, but polyploidy does not.




ANEUPLOIDY

 Aneuploidy describes a numerical change in part of the genome, usually a change in the dosage of a single chromosome. This includes individuals that:

      have an extra chromosome

      are missing a chromosome

      have a combination of these anomalies

      have a chromosome whose one arm has been deleted

The under- or overrepresentation of a chromosome or a chromosome segment can affect a phenotype.

An organism in which a chromosome, or a piece of a chromosome, is underrepresented is referred to as a hypoploid.

 An organism in which a chromosome or chromosome segment is overrepresented is referred to as a hyperploid.

Causes of aneuploidy:

Nondisjunction in the course of meiosis or mitosis:

 Disjunction is another word for the normal segregation of homologous chromosomes or chromatids to opposite poles at meiotic or mitotic divisions.

 Nondisjunction is a failure of this process, in which two chromosomes or chromatids incorrectly go to one pole and none to the other.

Loss of a chromosome that has a centromeric deletion.

Loss of the small chromosome produced by Robertsonian translocation.


ANEUPLOIDY TYPES

Nullisomic

2n - 2

Missing both copies of a homolog in a diploid

Monosomic

2n - 1

Missing one copy of a homolog in a diploid

Trisomic

2n + 1

Having an extra copy of one homolog in a diploid

Tetrasomic

2n + 2

Having two extra copies of one homolog in a diploid

Disomic

n + 1

Having an extra copy of a homolog in a haploid


NULLISOMY

Nullisomy occurs when both the homologs in the otherwise diploid genome is missing.

This is represented as 2n-2.

The number of possible nullisomics in an orga­nism will be equal to the haploid chromosome number.

Although nullisomy is a lethal condition in diploids, an organism such as bread wheat, which behaves meiotically like a diploid although it is a hexaploid, can tolerate nullisomy.

The four homoeologous chromosomes apparently compensate for a missing pair of homologs.

In fact, all the possible 21 bread wheat nullisomics have been produced. Their appearances differ from the normal hexaploids; furthermore, most of the nullisomics grow less vigorously.

MONOSOMY

Monosomy occurs when one chromosome is missing in an otherwise diploid individual.

 It is represented as 2n – 1.

• The number of possible monosomies in an organism is equal to the haploid chromosome number.

• When one copy of each of two non-homologous chromosomes are lost, it is called double monosomy (2n – 1 – 1).


 Suppose, gene A/a is on chromosome 2 where 'A' is dominant, and 'a' is recessive (mutant). Crosses of a/a with monosomic for chromosome 1 will give all progeny with A/a genotype. But, crosses of a/a with monosomic for chromosome 2 will give the following progenies:  A/a (50%) and  a/0 (50%). he appearance of recessive phenotype in the heterozygotes indicate a missing chromosome.


Turner Syndrome:

• In humans, there is only one viable monosomic, the 45, X karyotype.

 These individuals have a single X chromosome as well as a diploid complement of autosomes.

 Phenotypically, they are female, but they are almost always sterile.

  45, X individuals are usually short in stature; they have webbed necks, hearing deficiencies, and significant cardiovascular abnormalities.


  They originate from eggs or sperm that lack a sex chromosome or from the loss of a sex chromosome in mitosis sometime after fertilization.

 This latter possibility is supported by the finding that many Turner individuals are somatic mosaics.

  People with the 45, X karyotype have no Barr bodies in their cells, indicating that the single X chromosome that is present is not inactivated.



TRISOMY

  Trisomies are those organisms which have an extra chromosome.

  It is represented as 2n + 1.

  The number of possible trisomies in an organism is equal to the haploid chromosome number.

 Suppose, gene A/a is on chromosome 2 where 'A' is dominant, and 'a' is recessive (mutant).  A trisomic (A/a/a) for chromosome 2 will give the following meiotic segregation ratio: A (1/6), a (2/6), A/a (2/6), and a/a (1/6).


Trisomy types:

 Primary trisomies: extra chromosome is identical to both the homologues

 Secondary triso­mies: extra chromosome is an iso-chromosome with two genetically identical arms

  Tertiary trisomies: these are the products of translocation 


  Trisomies show irregular meiosis.

• Since the trisomies have an extra chromosome which is homologous to one of the chromosomes of the complement, they form a trivalent.


Trisomy in plants:

 Datura stramonium is a diploid species and has 12 pairs (=24) of chromosomes in the somatic cells.

Albert Blakeslee and John Belling analyzed chromosome anomalies in this plant.

Blakeslee collected plants with altered phenotypes and discovered that in some cases the phenotypes were inherited in an irregular way.

By examining the chromosomes of the mutant plants, Belling found that in every case an extra chromosome was present.

Altogether there were 12 different mutants, each corresponding to a triplication of one of the Datura chromosomes.

Such triplications are called trisomies.


Trisomy in human:

Down syndrome

It is a condition associated with an extra chromosome 21 (Trisomy 21).

First described in 1866 by a British physician, Langdon Down

Its chromosomal basis was not clearly understood until 1959

People with Down syndrome are typically short in stature and loose-jointed, particularly in the ankles; they have broad skulls, wide nostrils, large tongues with a distinctive furrowing, stubby hands with a crease on the palm and impaired mental abilities.

Their life span is much shorter than that of other people.

They also almost invariably develop Alzheimer’s disease.


Trisomy 21 can be caused by chromosome nondisjunction in one of the meiotic cell divisions, more likely in females.

The frequency of nondisjunction increases with maternal age. Thus, among mothers younger than 25 years old, the risk of having a child with Down syndrome is about 1 in 1500, whereas, among mothers 40 years old, it is 1 in 100.


Trisomies 13 and 18

They are very rare, and the affected individuals show serious phenotypic abnormalities and are dying within the first few weeks after birth.

 Another viable trisomy is the triplo-X karyotype, 47, XXX.

  These individuals survive because two of the three X chromosomes are inactivated, reducing the dosage of the X chromosome.

   Triplo-X individuals are female and are phenotypically normal, or nearly so; sometimes they exhibit a slight mental impairment and reduced fertility.

    Klinefelter syndrome

 The 47, XXY karyotype is also a viable trisomy in humans.

 These individuals have three sex chromosomes, two X’s and one Y.

 Phenotypically, they are male, but they can show some female secondary sexual characteristics and are usually sterile.

• Abnormalities associated with this condition, now called Klinefelter syndrome; these include small testes, enlarged breasts, long limbs, knock-knees, and underdeveloped body hair.

 The 47, XXY karyotype can originate by:

Fertilization of an exceptional XX egg with a Y-bearing sperm

Fertilization of an X-bearing egg with an exceptional XY sperm.

 All individuals with Klinefelter syndrome have one or more Barr bodies in their cells, and those with more than two X chromosomes usually have some degree of mental impairment.

 

 The 47, XYY karyotype is another viable trisomy in humans.

 These individuals are male, and except for a tendency to be taller than 46, XY men, they do not show a consistent syndrome of characteristics.


• All the other trisomies in humans are embryonic lethals, demonstrating the importance of correct gene dosage.

DISOMY

 A disomic (n+1) is an aberration of a haploid organism.

 In fungi, they can result from meiotic nondisjunction.

• In the fungus Neurospora (a haploid), an n-1 meiotic product aborts and does not darken like a normal ascospore

 So we may detect MI and MII nondisjunctions by observing asci with 4:4 and 6:2 ratios of normal to aborted spores, respectively.

 In these organisms, the disomic (n+1) meiotic product becomes a disomic strain directly.


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