Discovering your genes?

Question

Is it possible to compare yours and genes from both parents, to find out from whom did you inherit what?

Also, how much genes have their funcion known?

Answer 1

My genomics lectures have told me that around 50% of our coding DNA has now been decoded - and a function has been deduced for the proteins it encodes.

A total genome comparison between child/parents is maybe a few decades away; as computers get faster at analysing genomes it will be cheaper to get yours decoded. Right now you can only analyse quickly for a particular gene that causes disease in families (eg. Huntington's disease, sickle cell anaemia etc.), but I'm sure one day you could check out your genome and locate with the use of a computer which genes are from which parent.

Answer 2

Ok, if you want to know which allele came from which parent based just upon sequence, fine. I'll set it up for you. But if instead you want to know who you get what trait from then no, it isn't currently possible. Sequencing genes, fine. Linking specific sequences to phenotypes, mostly not yet possible. Beyond that, a lot of the traits you're most interested are polygenic (multiple genes interact to produce the trait), we are far from being able to figure out how this all works. If you have a heritable disease where a specific mutation leads to the trait at high penetrance, depending upon the disease there is a chance we could tell you which side the mutation came from.  If you want to know why you like yellow, are a type A personality, have a tendancy toward depression, are within a certain height range (apart from dwarfism where fgf pathway mutations play a role) or whatnot then you'll have to wait a few decades. As for the number of genes for which functions are fully known, the answer is a very very small number. There is a massive amount that we don't have a clue about, and even the thing we thought we understood frequently surprise us.

Answer 3

I think it is but its a very expensive proccess. I remember my science teacher teeling us about how If your a girl, you inherit Slightly a bit more from your father, and If your a boy, you inherit Slightly a bit more from your mother, contrary to belief.