• Question: This imprinting, as it is called, can have large effects on offspring health is this right?

    Asked by Ayse to Tristan, Sophie, Ravinder, Matt, Barbara on 9 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Sophie Robinson

      Sophie Robinson answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      Imprinting is where certain genes are silenced or turned off on the mothers or fathers chromosomes. Improper imprinting can result in an individual having two active copies or two inactive copies. This can lead to severe developmental abnormalities, cancer, and other problems.

      Prader-Willi and Angelman syndrome are both linked to the same imprinted region of chromosome 15. Some of the genes in this region are silenced in the egg, and at least one gene is silenced in the sperm. So someone who inherits a defect on chromosome 15 is missing different active genes, depending on whether the chromosome came from mum or dad.

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