The Gene Lab Report

The Gene Lab

1. Introduction
The purpose of this report is to inform dog breeders of a very common genetic disease known as Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). The report will also inform buyers of the disease so they are aware of the disorder and they can check to dog’s pedigree for the disease. PRA could affect any dog, as a result of this it is recommended that the offspring should be examined by a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist and screened for the existence of the disorder.
2. Recessive and dominant genes
Genes are genetic instructions that define what we look like, a phenotype, and how our cells are made up, a genotype. “Genes are made up of DNA and are organized into larger structures called chromosomes, which are
Genes carry information about our cells that create a persons characteristic. (eg. Eye Colour, Hair Colour, Skin colour etc.) Genes can also be described as instruction manuals. Genes are made up of DNA, which carries the instructions to make and operate parts of our bodies. (learn.genetics.utah.edu, 2004)
Genes are passed from parent to offspring through a type of cell division called meiosis. Meiosis is used in the production of sex cells. (Gametes) The Female gamete is the ova and the male gamete is the sperm. “This process results in the chromosome number being halved, so instead of pairs of chromosomes in each resulting cell, there is only one chromosome from each pair.” (Lofts, G. 2012) This genetic information was then put into 23 chromosomes from each your mother and your father. This results in 46 chromosomes, which makes up a zygote.
The difference between a dominant and a recessive gene is that a dominant gene is a gene overrides the recessive gene. It can suppress the recessive gene therefore it changes the allele even though a recessive allele existed.
3. Description of
It is a recessive gene (pp) which means that if the dogs have correct breeding partners than the whole disease can be removed from their species. When PRA is attached it interrupts common and essential gene repair processes known as homologous recombination and it effects one of the pre stages of meiosis, it also attaches to single stranded DNA, found in eukaryotic cells, this causes the DNA to be unable to become a secondary structure and it doesn’t allow the DNA strand to wind back on itself. This disorder is known to be spread because of pure breeding, dogs such as Labradors are bred because they are smart and easy to train, however because many people want their dogs to have a pure blood line they force the trainers to breed their dogs with a carrier of PRA and as a result they risk the offspring of the dogs to be carriers of PRA. The disorder has no known cure; the only treatment available just postpones the effects of the