What is a genetic disease?

What is a genetic disease?

• A. A genetic disease is a disease caused by an absent or defective gene in the DNA
• B. A disease caused by a viral infection
• C. A disease caused by environmental toxins
• D. A disease caused by bacterial infection

Answer: (A)

Genetic diseases come from changes in the DNA that cause a gene to be absent or produce a defective product, usually a protein, leading to disrupted cellular function and symptoms. Because genes provide the instructions for making proteins, any mutation or loss in a gene can translate into a disease state. This is why a disease caused by an absent or defective gene in the DNA best fits the idea of a genetic disease. Infectious diseases from a virus, toxins in the environment, or bacteria are not genetic diseases because they arise from other organisms or external exposures affecting the body, rather than from inherent defects in a person’s own genes.

Genetic diseases come from changes in the DNA that cause a gene to be absent or produce a defective product, usually a protein, leading to disrupted cellular function and symptoms. Because genes provide the instructions for making proteins, any mutation or loss in a gene can translate into a disease state. This is why a disease caused by an absent or defective gene in the DNA best fits the idea of a genetic disease.

Infectious diseases from a virus, toxins in the environment, or bacteria are not genetic diseases because they arise from other organisms or external exposures affecting the body, rather than from inherent defects in a person’s own genes.