translocationgenetics

Main

Aspects of this topic are discussed in the following places at Britannica.

Assorted References

  • chromosomal disorder ( in chromosomal disorder )

    ...can be duplicated three (triploidy) or more (polyploidy) times; or one arm or part of one arm of a single chromosome may be missing (deletion). Part of one chromosome may be transferred to another (translocation), which has no effect on the person in which it occurs but generally causes a deletion or duplication syndrome in his or her children. Changes in chromosome number occur during sperm or...

    in evolution: Chromosomal mutations )

    ...of chromosomes may occur by inversion, when a chromosomal segment rotates 180 degrees within the same location; by duplication, when a segment is added; by deletion, when a segment is lost; or by translocation, when a segment changes from one location to another in the same or a different chromosome. These are the processes by which chromosomes evolve. Inversions, translocations, fusions, and...

    in heredity: Translocations )

    If a chromosome break occurs in each of two nonhomologous chromosomes and the two breaks rejoin in a new arrangement, the new segment is called a translocation. A cell bearing a heterozygous translocation has a full set of genes and will be viable unless one of the breaks causes damage within a gene or if there is a position effect on gene function. However, once again the pairing properties of...

  • human genetic disease ( in genetic disease, human: Structural abnormalities )

    Structural abnormalities of the autosomes are even more common in the population than are numerical abnormalities and include translocations of large pieces of chromosomes, as well as smaller deletions, insertions, or rearrangements. Indeed, about 5 percent of all cases of Down syndrome result not from classic trisomy 21 but from the presence of excess chromosome 21 material attached to the end...

  • oncogene pathology ( in oncogene )

    ...protein that cannot be properly regulated. Point mutations are responsible for converting certain c-ras proto-oncogenes to oncogenes. A second method of oncogenesis occurs by the process of translocation, in which a segment of the chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome. If the dislocated chromosome contains a proto-oncogene, it may be removed from its regulatory...

    in immune system disorder: Genetic causes of cancer )

    ...uncontrolled cellular proliferation and the exaggeration of some normal cellular activities. A proto-oncogene can become mutated in a number of ways. According to one mechanism, called chromosomal translocation, part of one chromosome is severed from its normal position and reattached (translocated) onto another chromosome. If a proto-oncogene appears on the piece of the chromosome that is...

    in cancer: Chromosomal translocation )

    Chromosomal translocation has been linked to several types of human leukemias and lymphomas. Through chromosomal translocation one segment of a chromosome breaks off and is joined to another chromosome. As a result of such an event, two separate genes can be fused. In some cases the newly created gene leads to tumour development. Such is the case with the so-called Philadelphia chromosome, the...

  • radiation ( in radiation: Damage to chromosomes )

    ...a way that the sequence of genes on the chromosomes is changed. For example, one of the broken ends of chromosome A may join onto a broken end of chromosome B, and vice versa in a process termed translocation. A germ cell carrying such a chromosome structural change may be capable of producing a zygote that can develop into an adult individual, but the germ cells produced by the resulting...

Citations

MLA Style:

"translocation." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 22 Nov. 2008 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/602922/translocation>.

APA Style:

translocation. (2008). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 22, 2008, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/602922/translocation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.

If you think a reference to this article on "translocation (genetics)" will enhance your Web site, blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article, and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.

You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.

copy link

We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.

Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.

A-Z Browse

Image preview