Question

The pattern of transcription for a pair of identical twins (Tweedledee and Tweedledum) is very similar at the age of 10. However by the time they are 50, transcription of the leptin gene is much higher in Tweedledee than in Tweedledum. This could be due to what change in Tweedledum? Group of answer choices

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

My best bet is DNA methylation at the site of Tweedledum's leptin gene or Histone Acetylation at the site of Tweedledee's gene.

B/c DNA methylation is a process by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule. Methylation can change the activity of a DNA segment without changing the sequence. When located in a gene promoter, DNA methylation typically acts to repress gene transcription. So this is probably repressing Tweedledum's leptin gene trancription which is not happening in Tweedledee.

Additionally, Histone Acetylation at site of Tweedledee's gene increases her trancription b/c Histone acetylation causes DNA to be more accessible and leads to more transcription factors being able to reach the DNA. Thus, acetylation of histones is known to increase the expression of genes through transcription activation.