Multiple choice

Which of the following explains a particular type of polymorphism taking place within the gene that causes Huntington's disease in humans?

  1. Sequence-tagged sites (STSs)

  2. Short tandem repeat polymorphisms (STRPs)

  3. Expressed sequence tag (EST)

  4. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)
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B Correct answer
Explanation

The autosomal dominant gene leading to Huntington's disease has a mutation due to the extension of a triplet sequence of (CAG) within the coding region of the gene. Since the arrangement of the entire gene is now known, primers on either side of the tandem repeat arrangement of (CAG)n can be used to modify the region using the polymerase chain reaction and determine the size, i.e. number of times CAG is repeated. The triplet repeat arrangement is known as a STRPs, or short tandem repeat polymorphisms.

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