What is COMT polymorphism?

The COMT gene is located on chromosome 22 and contains a functional polymorphism that translates into a substitution of methionine (met) for valine (val) at codon 158 (val158met). Met allele carriers show about 40\% lower prefrontal enzymatic activity than val allele carriers (Chen et al., 2004).

What happens if your gene copies are heterozygous?

Heterozygous refers to having inherited different forms of a particular gene from each parent. A heterozygous genotype stands in contrast to a homozygous genotype, where an individual inherits identical forms of a particular gene from each parent.

What is the COMT gene responsible for?

The COMT gene provides instructions for making an enzyme called catechol-O-methyltransferase. Two versions of this enzyme are made from the gene. The longer form, called membrane-bound catechol-O-methyltransferase (MB-COMT), is chiefly produced by nerve cells in the brain.

What happens when there is a heterozygous pair of alleles for a trait?

When an organism is heterozygous at a specific locus and carries one dominant and one recessive allele, the organism will express the dominant phenotype. Alleles can also refer to minor DNA sequence variations between alleles that do not necessarily influence the gene’s phenotype.

How do you increase your COMT activity?

There are not many known ways to increase COMT activity, so avoiding anything that inhibits COMT activity is key to recovering from COMT-related issues. Regardless of our genes, we can all benefit from improving liver detox, which helps reduce stress on the body.

What does heterozygous mutation mean?

A mutation affecting only one allele is called heterozygous. A homozygous mutation is the presence of the identical mutation on both alleles of a specific gene. However, when both alleles of a gene harbor mutations, but the mutations are different, these mutations are called compound heterozygous.

Does heterozygous mean dominant?

Difference between homozygous and heterozygous Unlike homozygous, being heterozygous means you have two different alleles. You inherited a different version from each parent. In a heterozygous genotype, the dominant allele overrules the recessive one. Therefore, the dominant trait will be expressed.

What is the COMT gene psychology?

The COMT gene is a gene that regulates the function of dopamine. It appears that this gene is also mutated in individuals with OCD. However this mutation causes the opposite effect as the SERT mutation discussed above.

What is Val158Met?

A common functional polymorphism (Val158Met) leads to a three- to-four-fold variation in the COMT enzyme activity, the Met form displaying lower enzymatic activity. The Val158Met polymorphism affects pain perception, and subjects with the Met/Met genotype have the most pronounced response to experimental pain.

How can heterozygotes inform us about the dominance relationship between two alleles?

If the two alleles are the same (homozygous), the trait they represent will be expressed. But if the individual carries one of each allele (heterozygous), only the dominant one will be expressed. The recessive allele will simply be suppressed.

What does it mean to have a heterozygous genotype?

(HEH-teh-roh-ZY-gus JEE-noh-tipe) The presence of two different alleles at a particular gene locus. A heterozygous genotype may include one normal allele and one mutated allele or two different mutated alleles (compound heterozygote).