History

  1. Nicholas II was the last czar to hold power in Russia. How long had the Romanov family been in power in Russia?
    From 1613-1917 so 304 years.
  2. Nicholas II abdicated the throne. Who took power then? The Bolsheviks
  3. Describe what happened to Nicholas II and his family after he abdicated the throne? Him and his entire family were
    killed.
  4. One of the reasons that the family of Nicholas II was executed (vs. just imprisoned) was because there was a fear
    that the White Russian Army would save them. Who was the White Russian Army? Counter-revolution group that
    fought against the Bolsheviks.
    Hemophilia
    One of the pedigree charts found at the end of this assignment comes from the Module powerpoint lecture notes.
  5. How was Alix, the wife of Nicholas II, related to Queen Victoria of England? (Look at the pedigree chart very
    carefully.) Alix was Queen Victoria’s granddaughter.
  6. On what chromosome is the gene that, when mutated, causes hemophilia, and how does this contribute to its
    inheritance pattern? X; because females need both x chromosomes from the father and the mother to have it, while
    males only need one x chromosome. This leads to females being carriers or expressors and males only being expressors of
    hemophilia.
    Both Queen Victoria and Alix are designated as being carriers for hemophilia.
  7. What does it mean to be a carrier for a disease? You carry a disease when you are heterozygous for the recessive
    gene. Therefore, you can carry the gene and pass it on without expressing the gene.
  8. Why aren’t males considered carriers for hemophilia? Because they only need one recessive x gene to express the
    disease. They cannot have one recessive x gene and one dominant X gene, which is what makes a woman a carrier.
  9. In a couple of sentences, describe the physiology of the disease hemophilia. (Yes, I know it is severe bleeding
    because the blood cannot clot. But WHY can’t the blood clot? Be very specific.) Clotting factor VIII is missing
    from type A hemophilia, while clotting factor IX is missing from type B hemophilia.
  10. What type of hemophilia (A or B) is (probably) represented in the pedigree chart? B
  11. Describe the mutation (at the molecular level) that apparently caused hemophilia in Alix, (and probably all of the
    European families that had hemophilia). Be very specific. Casual substitution in the splice acceptor site of exon 4 in
    the F9 gene.
  12. How could the mutation you described in #12 result in a faulty gene product? Be very specific in your description.
    There would be a lack of that protein due to no transcription nor translation because the gene would not be able to splice.
  13. The Romanov’s son, Alexis, had hemophilia. Describe how Alexis genetically acquired hemophilia. (Use a
    Punnett square. You can either draw a table or line up the genotypes.)
    Father: X Y
    Mother: X XX XY
    x Xx xY
  14. Using a Punnett square (again, draw a table or line up the genotypes), explain why only males in the pedigree
    chart have hemophilia. (Choose at least one of the males represented in the pedigree chart, and show his parents
    in the Punnett square.) As seen in question 13, none of the males who have hemophilia reproduced. Therefore, since
    hemophilia is an x-linked disease, none of the women received the disease since they would need a recessive x from both
    parents in order to contract the disease. This is why it is easier for males to contract hemophilia because they only need one
    recessive x gene.
  15. Is it possible for a female to inherit hemophilia, and, if so, how? Yes, if her father has hemophilia and if her mother
    is a carrier.
  16. Some historians speculate that Alexis’ hemophilia condition could have led to the Russian Revolution. Explain.
    Being an heir to the throne, it would not have looked good if Alexis was in poor health. Especially because there was a short
    life expectancy for those who were hemophiliacs. Alexis was also the only son of the family and that is what would have
    caused tension and fear. You should look up the faith healer Rasputin and read about his relationship to the Romanov
    family.
    Molecular Analysis of People in a Mass Grave
  17. Two “graves” were discovered near Yekaterinburg, Russia. When were these graves discovered, and how many
    bodies were found in each grave? There were 9 bodies in one grave and 2 children in the second.
  18. What type of testing was done to confirm sex and familial relationships among the remains found in the mass
    grave? If you use an abbreviation, write it out and define what it is. Mitochondrial DNA tests, Autosomal short
    tandem repeat (STR), and Y-short tandem repeat (STR) testing (which are taken from a male chromosome).
  19. HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, provided mitochondrial DNA used to identify Alix and her three
    daughters. HRH Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is married to Queen Elizabeth II of England. Wait, isn’t
    Queen Elizabeth II related to Queen Victoria? So why was Prince Philip’s mitochondrial DNA used? (To help
    you answer this question, look at the second pedigree chart.) They shared a common ancestor. Prince Philip was
    Queen Victoria’s great nephew.
  20. Who was missing from the mass grave (the one with the most skeletons)? Alexis and one of his sisters.
    Molecular Analysis of People in a Mass Grave, cont.
  21. The Duke of Fife and Princess Xenia provided mitochondrial DNA used to identify Nicholas. One of these is a
    female and another is a male. Does that matter? What general statement can you make about their genetic
    relationship to Nicholas and Alexandra? It does not matter whether they are male or female since they are all
    grandchildren of Louise of Hesse-Cassel; therefore, they all share her mitochondrial DNA.
  22. What was discovered in the mitochondrial DNA of Nicholas that was not identified in either the Duke of Fife or
    Princess Xenia? Nicholas had 16169 C
    T
    =Y , while the Duke of Fife and Princess Xenia only had 16169 T.
  23. What is the term given to the existence of two (or more) genetically different mitochondria in the cell?
    Heteroplasmy.
  24. What three types of DNA were used to test the remains found in a second grave? Again, if you use an abbreviation,
    write it out and define what it is. Mitochondrial DNA tests, autosomal short tandem repeat(STR), and Y-short
    tandem repeat (STR) tests (tests taken from a male chromosome).
  25. Of the three types of DNA you listed in the previous answer, which one would have been used specifically to
    identify Alexis and why? Mitochondrial because he was also a distant relative of Queen Victoria.
  26. Was Anastasia in the grave in which Alexis was found? DNA was inconclusive.
    Who Wants to Be Anastasia?
    Apparently, about 200 people have wanted to be Anastasia and have claimed to be her! One of the most famous imposters
    was a woman named Anna Anderson (Manahan).
  27. Give a brief history (2-3 sentences) of Anna Anderson-both her claims and what is thought to be true. Anna
    Anderson made claims that she was Anastasia not long after rumors came out saying that Anastasia had escaped execution
    and was still alive. There were DNA tests taken and they prove otherwise.
  28. Where in the US did Anna Anderson eventually settle and why? She settled down in Charlottesville, VA and
    married John Manahan because her visa was about to expire.
  29. What were the sources of Anna Andersons’s nuclear DNA? Bowel segments.
  30. What were the sources of Nicholas’ and Alix’s nuclear DNA? Bone fragments.
  31. What type of analysis was done on DNA from Anna Anderson, Nicholas, and Alix? Mitochondrial DNA and STR.
  32. Anna Anderson’s mitochondrial DNA was compared to the mitochondrial DNA of what two “other” people? The
    Tsar and Tsarina.
  33. A hypervariable region of the mitochondrial DNA was analyzed. Define a hypervariable region. A segment of DNA
    that has a lot of repeats or substitutions.
  34. What were the conclusions from the mitochondrial DNA comparisons? They concluded that she was not the
    daughter of Nicholas II and Alix.
  35. The article which describes the analysis of Anna Anderson’s DNA was published in 1995.
    When were all of Nicholas’ and Alix’s children finally accounted for? 2007
  36. What was the most surprising thing that you learned from doing this assignment? I became more
    familiar with hemophilia through this assignment. I knew what it caused but I did not know that it
    is only caused by a mutated X chromosome. I also did not realize Anastasia was a real person – I
    always thought it was just a creative movie!