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Human karyogram. Neurogenetics studies the role of genetics in the development and function of the nervous system.It considers neural characteristics as phenotypes (i.e. manifestations, measurable or not, of the genetic make-up of an individual), and is mainly based on the observation that the nervous systems of individuals, even of those belonging to the same species, may not be identical.
An application of the study of somatic mosaicism in the brain could be the tracing of specific brain cells. Indeed, if the somatic L1 insertions occurs in a progenitor cell , the unique variant could be used to trace the progenitor cell's development, localization, and spreading through the brain.
HAR1F is active in the developing human brain. The HAR1 sequence is found (and conserved) in chickens and chimpanzees but is not present in fish or frogs that have been studied. There are 18 base pair mutations different between humans and chimpanzees, far more than expected by its history of conservation. [1]
One study on the comparison of genes between different species of Drosophila suggests that if a mutation does change a protein, the mutation will most likely be harmful, with an estimated 70 per cent of amino acid polymorphisms having damaging effects, and the remainder being either neutral or weakly beneficial. [8]
In nature, the mutations that arise may be beneficial or deleterious—this is the driving force of evolution. An organism may acquire new traits through genetic mutation, but mutation may also result in impaired function of the genes and, in severe cases, causes the death of the organism.
Trinucleotide repeat expansion, is a DNA mutation that is responsible for causing any type of disorder classified as a trinucleotide repeat disorder. These disorders are progressive and affect the sequences of the human genome, frequently within the nervous system.
Huntington's disease (HD) is a rare autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutations in the huntingtin gene (HTT). HD is characterized by loss of medium spiny neurons and astrogliosis. [30] [31] [32] The first brain region to be substantially affected is the striatum, followed by degeneration of the frontal and temporal ...
There are several methods, or forms, of mutation that exist including spontaneous mutation, errors during replication and repair, as well as mutation due to environmental effects. [8] These origins of mutations can cause many different types of mutations which influence gene expression on both large and small scales.