Question

You are a researcher that is studying a population of dragons. You have been studying the dragons for many years and think that this population has some individuals that have some genetic abnormalities that could be the result of 1) DNA replication and repair errors, 2) chromatic packaging issues or 3) chromosomal mutations. These abnormalities seem to run in families and do not appear to be affected by seasonal or environmental changes but do cause the individuals to get ill in middle age.

1. Provide an example of how EACH (for a total of 3) could result in this type of abnormality/illness.
2. Be sure to explain specifically how each process could cause illness. For example: when describing the processes, you should be specific (so don’t speak generally about DNA repair, rather discuss a particular type of repair error).
3. Be thorough in your descriptions and be sure to relate back to the phenotype (getting sick in middle age).  

Answer 1

Examples of some Genetic abnormalities that might be seen in dragons due to the result of DNA replication and repair errors are :

1. Werner syndrome (WS) : it results in premature aging, retarded growth. It is due to Hyperrecombination ,
Defective DNA initiation and
chain elongation.

2.Trichothiodystrophy (TTD) : it results in Sensitive skin,
Brittle hair and nails,
Frequent physical and mental retardation.it is due to Defective repair.
Three complementation groups
(including TTD-A, not cloned).
Normal immunological responses to
UV light .

Example of some Genetic abnormalities that might be seen in dragons due to the result of chromatic packaging issues :

Neurodegenerative disorder : It occurs due to deregulated expression. Several neurodegenerative disorders have been found to involve aberrant DNA methylation patterns at CpG-rich regions of disease-associated genes .

Deregulated imprinting : Aberrant methylation at ICRs of imprinted regions of the genome can lead to deregulated expression of imprinted genes. Two such diseases, Prader-Willi syndrome and Angelman syndrome, originate from a loss of regulation at the ICR at q11–q13 on chromosome 15.

Example of some Genetic abnormalities that might be seen in dragons due to the result of chromosomal mutations :

Fertility Problem : It might be due to aneuploidy ( a deviation of the normal chromosome number leading to loss or gain of one or several individual chromosomes from the diploid set ).