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3: Genotype and Phenotype I - Monogenic Traits

  • Page ID
    142318
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    monogenic trait is a trait that is caused by variation in a single gene. Even if you don't know the term, you should already be familiar with the basic properties of monogenic traits because they were the traits you learned about when you first encountered Mendelian genetics -- traits "caused" by one gene, with a dominant and a recessive allele, that are transmitted via the Mendelian laws of segregation and independent assortment.

    This straightforward interpretation of Mendelian transmission genetics is complicated by one important observation: multiple genes are always involved in expressing a phenotype. The interactions between multiple genes that influence a phenotype is called epistasis, and being able to reason about these interactions is important for understanding even "simple" traits like monogenic diseases in humans.

    Learning Objectives

    At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

    • Describe how a “forward genetics” approach lets us study which genes are involved in a phenotype and the limitations of this approach.

    • Use the results of supplementation studies to determine the order of enzymes in a pathway.

    • Use the results of a complementation study to determine the number of enzymes in a pathway.

    • Describe the transmission of dominant and recessive monogenic genetic disorder in humans and use this information to interpret a pedigree.

    • Describe the use of association testing to find the gene associated with a disease.

    • Apply Bayes’ rule to genetic testing.

     

     


    3: Genotype and Phenotype I - Monogenic Traits is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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