Introduction

In FlyLab you studied modes of inheritance and chromosome maps in Drosophila melanogaster. In this laboratory you will have the opportunity to use pedigree analysis to simulate the inheritance of genes for human genetic disorders, and use RFLP analysis to study recombination in humans. Combining RFLP analysis with pedigree analysis will enable you to learn about, and understand, how the location of a gene can be assigned to a chromosome and you will pinpoint the location of a gene on a chromosome by using recombination data to generate a genetic map of that chromosome.

For your ease in completing each assignment, the background text relevant to the experiment that you will perform is blue, instructions for each assignment are indicated by plain text, and questions or activities that you will be asked to provide answers for are indicated by bold text.

Objectives

The purpose of this laboratory is to allow the student to:

• Demonstrate how pedigree analysis can be used to determine the mode of inheritance for a genetic disorder across several generations of humans.
• Demonstrate how recombination data from genetic crosses can be interpreted and applied to discover the location of a gene on a chromosome and to develop chromosome maps.
• Simulate the use of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis to develop genetic maps of a chromosome.

Before You Begin: Prerequisites

Before beginning PedigreeLab you should be familiar with the following concepts:

• Chromosome structure and the stages of gamete formation by meiosis.
• Using PedigreeLab to study basic principles of Mendelian genetics.
• Inheritance of normal traits and genetic diseases by autosomal recessive, autosomal dominant, and sex-linked inheritance in humans .
• The use of genetic crosses to develop chromosome maps according to linkage groups.