Basic Genetics

Prepared by:
Winona Mei A. Reyes, RMT
How is Genetics important to Transfusion
Medicine?
Many areas of transfusion medicine rely on an
understanding of blood group genetics and on accurate
and sensitive methods of pathogen testing to keep the
blood supply safe. Most of the antigens in the various
blood group systems generally follow straightforward
inheritance patterns, usually of a codominant nature
• Classic Genetics
– Phenotype: antigens present Genetics
on all blood cells are
• Cellular Genetics
expressed
– Mitosis
– Genotype: controls what
antigens may be expressed on – Meiosis
the cell – Cell Division
• Population Genetics • Molecular Genetics
– Mendel’s Law of Segregation – DNA
– Mendel’s Law of Independent – Replication
Assortment – Repair, mutation, isolation
– Hardy-Weinberg Principle – RNA
– Inheritance Pattern – Transcription & Translation
• Population Genetics
–Mendel’s Law of Segregation
–Mendel’s Law of Independent Assortment
–Hardy-Weinberg Principle
–Inheritance Pattern
History
Hardy-Weinberg Principle
p+q=1
P2 + 2pq + q2 = 1

p = gene frequency of the dominant allele

q = frequency of the recessive allele

Cornerstone of population genetics

Inheritance Pattern
• Autosomal: traits not carried on sex chromosomes
• Recessive trait
• Dominant trait
• X – linked
• Dominant X – linked trait
• Recessive X – linked trait
• Autosomal dominant trait: do not skip generations
• Cellular Genetics
– Mitosis
– Meiosis
– Cell Division
• Molecular Genetics
– DNA
– Replication
– Repair, mutation, isolation
– RNA
– Transcription & Translation
 DNA
A T

G C
TRANSCRIPTION
TRANSLATION