THE INHERITANCE OF DOMINANT GENES

. Bob Dylan wrote some of the most important songs of the 60’s and is considered “the most important lyrist of this era

Robert Zimmerman grew up in Minnesota in the 50’. He changed his name to Bob Dylan But in 1960 he moved to New York City and began writing and sing folk songs

He continued to have hit songs into the 70’s and 80’s Such as - The Times They Are A-Changin’

In 1988 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for songs such as “Like a Rolling Stone”

In 1998 his album received a Grammy for album of the year

In 2001, Bob Dylan received an Academy Award for his song “Things Have Changed” from the movie Wonder Boys.

His music and writing has influenced generations of musicians including:

The song “Mr.. Jones” by the Counting Crows draws from the Dylan song “Ballad of a Thin Man”

But why did Bob Dylan go to New York City?

He went to visit his idol - Woody Guthrie who was dying in the hospital Dylan’s first album had “Song for Woody

Woody Guthrie was one of the “most influential cultural figures” of the Depression Era. He wrote over one thousand songs between 1932 and 1952.

Woody Guthrie sang about repressed people, such as the Okies coming to California during the Depression. He and John Stienbeck’s book “Grapes of Wrath” greatly influenced how farm workers were later treated

Guthrie is remembered for many songs, but the one most often sung by every camper and scout is...

Woody Guthrie’s other legacy to music is all the other song writers he has influenced such as: Springsteen Baez

Woody Guthrie was born in 1912 to Charley and Nora Guthrie. He had one sister, Clara, who died in a mysterious house fire.

CHARLEYNORA WOODY

In 1973 Woody Guthrie died of Huntington’s Disease after fifteen years of hospital- zation.

Huntington’s Disease results from the deterioration of nerves such as those in the center of the Huntington’s brain on the right

Woody had three children with his last wife. Joady, Nora and Arlo

WOODY ArloJoady Nora

Woody Guthrie spent the last fifteen years of his life in mental institutions and hospitals. His children were with him at the time of his death in 1973.

We’ll concentrate on the middle child, Arlo. Arlo also became a song writer. He’s most famous song was actually made into a movie

Woody- Hh H h h h Hh hh

Actually, Woody’s married life was much more complex and by looking at the complete pedigree we can see how a dominant gene, such as Huntington’s Disease, is inherited.

Both Gwen and Sue inherited the Huntington gene and died form the affliction.

In 1979 Nancy Wexler began studying a village in Venezuela where Huntington’s Disease was common rather than rare. Through her work with thousands of blood sample, she was able to identify the location of the gene that causes Huntington’s Disease.

Like Arlo Guthrie, Nancy Wexler had a parent who died from Huntington’s Disease.

Through Wexler’s research, the gene causing Huntington’s Disease was located at the tip of chromosome 4.

Soon after discovering the location, six universities working under the direction of Nancy Wexler, identified the sequence of the A’s, G’s, C’s, and T’s. The University of California, Irvine was the major researcher in identifying the sequence of the Huntington”s Disease gene.

The mutation that causes Huntington’s Disease is a repeating of the three bases C,A,G in the gene. The more often the repeat of the CAG sequence the more likely it is to contract the disease and the earlier the disease starts.

A – C – C – G – T – C – G – A – T – C – A – G – A – A – C – T – T –

A – C – C – G – T – C – G – A – T – C – A – G – C – A – G – A – A – C – T – T –

A – C – C – G – T – C – G – A – T – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – A – A – C – T – T –

A – C – C – G – T – C – G – A – T – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – A – A – C – T – T –

A – C – C – G – T – C – G – A – T – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – A – A – C – T – T –

A – C – C – G – T – C – G – A – T – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – A – A – C – T – T –

A – C – C – G – T – C – G – A – T – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – A – A – C – T – T –

A – C – C – G – T – C – G – A – T – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – A – A – C – T – T –

A – C – C – G – T – C – G – A – T – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – A – A – C – T – T –

A – C – C – G – T – C – G – A – T – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – C – A – G – A – A – C – T – T – Adding multiple copies of the C – A – G codon, changes the amino acid sequence in the copy.

The Huntington gene has a section where three bases repeat over and over, causing a protein with a section of repeating amino acids.

The reason Huntington’s Disease symptoms do not appear until late in life is that the incorrect protein takes time to builds up in the nerve cells, until the cell eventually dies.

The repeating CAG sequence is responsible for other genetic conditions

Soon after the location and sequence of the gene were identified, a genetic test was developed to determine if the Huntington’s mutation is present.

Even though she was instrumental in developing the genetic test for the Huntington’s gene, Dr. Wexler will not reveal if she has had the test. Neither has Arlo Guthrie

We ended with the local University, UCI, where the sequence of the gene was discovered

Arial view of University of California, Irvine

Medical Science Building at UCI

From Nancy Wexler, who identified the location of the gene on chromosome

From Arlo Guthrie who inherited two recessive normal genes.

From Woody Guthrie who died because he was heterozygous for the Huntington gene.

From Bob Dylan who went to New York to visit Woody in the hospital.

And back to me and my first date in the car to see Bob Dylan at the Hollywood Bowl.

All because All because Huntington’s Disease is inherited as a dominant trait: 1)What was Woody Guthrie's genotype for Huntington’s Disease. 2)What is the genotype of Arlo Guthrie. 3)Construct the Punnett square for Nancy Wexler. 4)What is the probability that Nancy Wexler does have Huntington’s Disease? 5)Construct the pedigree for Woody Guthrie. (He had two sisters.) 6)What is the probability that his little sister, who died in a “mysterious” fire, would have had Huntington’s Disease if she had lived?

So we come back to the beginning, Nancy Wexler identified the location of the gene that cause the Huntington’s Disease that Arlo Guthrie did not had but that killed his dad, Woody Guthrie, who Bob Dylan went to New York to visit where he was discovered and went on to become one of the most influential song writers of the 20 th Century because of the Huntington Disease gene.