A 24-year-old woman with myotonic dystrophy, a genetic disorder caused by a dominant mutant allele, has significant muscle weakness and wasting. She has a 1-year-old son with very poor muscle tone, severe weakness, and significant developmental delay. Her affected 55-year-old father has minor cataracts but no muscle weakness. Which of the following terms BEST describes this situation?
A) codominance
B) complementation
C) multiple alleles
D) compound heterozygote
E) anticipation

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Anticipation is a phenomenon where symptoms of a genetic disorder become more severe or appear at an earlier age as the disorder is passed on to the next generation. In this case, the woman's son shows more severe symptoms at a younger age compared to his mother and grandfather, which is characteristic of anticipation in myotonic dystrophy.

A 24-Year-Old Woman with Myotonic Dystrophy, a Genetic Disorder Caused