Genetics - One Family's Fingerprints

One Family's Fingerprints

Teacher: Anne B. McDonald: Lake Charles, LA
Subject: Biology
Grade Level(s): 10
Target Audience: Biology I
Materials Needed: handouts
Class Time: 50 minutes
Brief Summary: Students will read the segment, "One Family's Fingerprints," in the May 1992 National Geographic and analyze the DNA fingerprints of family members. They will determine inheritance patterns of seven genes in the family and label the genotypes of each individual on a pedigree. Students will then predict which family members would suffer from genetic conditions when specific genes are assigned to members of the family.
Student Objective(s): To determine specific genotypes present in the family by interpreting their DNA fingerprints, to analyze the possibility of inheriting a number of genetic conditions based upon family relationships and genotypes.
Description of Activities: Analyze DNA fingerprint and determine genotype of each family member. Circle genes inherited from mother in red, those from father in blue. Label a drawn pedigree with genotypes and family relationships. Suppose Red-Green color blindness is represented by gene "B." Predict family members who have the trait; are carriers (sex-linked, recessive). Shade pedigrees. Suppose "E" gene is responsible for Huntington's Disease (autosomal dominant). Who will develop HD? Shade pedigree. Suppose "F" gene is the autosomal recessive gene for Cystic Fibrosis. Who has the disease; who are carriers. Shade pedigrees
Integration (tying it all together): If the "B," "E," and "F" genes caused the conditions, would there be any family members who would be affected by two conditions? Three conditions? Can genetic counselors be helpful to families like the Guertners?
Further Information and References: Franklin-Barbajosa, DNA Profiling: The New Science of Identity, National Geographic, May 1992.

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