Biotechnology and Genetics

Biotechnology and Genetics terms

1. A Abbreviation for adenine.
2. A-site Abbreviation for aminoacyl site.
3. AB Abbreviation for antibody.
4. ABC model Widely accepted model of flower organ identity that appears generally applicable to distantly related dicotyledon ous, although less well to monocotyledon…
5. Abiotic Absence of living organisms.
6. Abiotic stress Outside (nonliving) factors which can cause harmful effects to plants, such as soil conditions, drought, extreme temperatures.
7. abscisic acid A phytohormone implicated in the control of many plant responses to abiotic stress, such as extent of stomatal opening under water deficit (i.e.
8. Abzyme See Catalytic antibody.
9. acaricide A pesticide used to kill or control mites or ticks.
10. ACC synthase Abbreviation for 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylase. The enzyme catalyses the rate limiting step in the ethylene biosynthetic pathway, and is particularly…
11. acceptor control The regulation of the rate of respiration by the availability of ADP as a phosphate acceptor.
12. acceptor junction site The junction between the 3' end of an intron and the 5' end of an exon. See: donor junction site.
13. accessory bud A lateral bud occurring at the base of a terminal bud or at the side of an axillary bud.
14. acclimatization The adaptation of a living organism (plant, animal or micro-organism) to a changed environment that subjects it to physiological stress.
15. acellular Tissues or organisms that are not made up of separate cells but often have more than one nucleus.
16. acentric chromosome Chromosome fragment lacking a centromere.
17. acetyl co-enzyme A (Abbreviation: acetyl CoA) A compound formed in the mitochondria when an acetyl group (CH3CO-) - derived from breakdown of fats, protein s, or…
18. acetyl CoA Abbreviation for acetyl co-enzyme A.
19. ACP Abbreviation for acyl carrier protein.
20. acquired Developed in response to the environment, not inherited, such as a character trait (acquired characteristic) resulting from environmental effect(s).
21. Acquired genetic mutation See: somatic cell genetic mutation
22. acridine dyes A class of positively charged polycyclic molecules that intercalate into DNA and induce frameshift mutations.
23. acrocentric A chromosome that has its centromere near the end.
24. acropetal Arising or developing in a longitudinal sequence beginning at the base and proceeding towards the apex. Opposite: basipetal.
25. Activated carbon See activated charcoal.
26. activated charcoal Charcoal that has been treated to remove hydrocarbons and to increase its adsorptive properties.
27. Active transport The movement of a molecule or groups of molecules across a cell membrane, which requires the expenditure of cellular energy, because the direction of…
28. acute transfection Short-term transfection.
29. acyl carrier protein (Abbreviation: ACP). A class of molecules that bind acyl intermediates during the formation of long-chain fatty acids.
30. Adaptation Adjustment of a population to changes in environment over generations, associated (at least in part) with genetic changes resulting from selection imposed…
31. Adaptive radiation The evolution of new species or sub- species to fill unoccupied ecological niches.
32. additive genes Genes whose net effect is the sum of their individual allelic effects, i.e. they show neither dominance nor epistasis.
33. Additive genetic effects When the combined effects of alleles at different loci are equal to the sum of their individual effects. See also: anticipation, complex trait
34. additive genetic variance The net effect of the expresson of additive genes, and thus the chief cause of the resemblance between relatives.
35. adenine (Abbreviation: A). One the base s found in DNA and RNA. See: adenosine.
36. Adenine (A) A nitrogenous base, one member of the base pair AT (adenine-thymine). See also: base pair, nucleotide
37. adenosine The (ribo)nucleoside resulting from the combination of the base adenine (A) and the sugar D-ribose.
38. adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA) A severe immunodeficiency disease that results from a lack of the enzyme adenosine deaminase.
39. adenosine diphosphate (adenosine 5'-diphosphate) (Abbreviation: ADP). See: adenosine triphosphate.
40. adenosine monophosphate (adenosine 5'-monophosphate) (Abbreviation: AMP). See: adenylic acid, adenosine triphosphate.
41. adenosine triphosphate (adenosine 5'-triphosphate) (Abbreviation: ATP). A nucleotide of fundamental importance as the major carrier of chemical energy in all living organisms.
42. adenovirus (A-den-oh-VY-rus) A group of viruses that cause respiratory tract and eye infections.
43. adenylic acid Synonym for adenosine monophosphate, a (ribo)nucleotide containing the nucleoside adenosine.
44. Adipocyte Fat cell.
45. Adipose tissue A type of connective tissue that stores fat.
46. adoptive immunization The transfer of an immune state from one animal to another by means of lymphocyte transfusions.
47. ADP Abbreviation for adenosine diphosphate.
48. Adult (or somatic) stem cell Stem cells found in different tissues of the developed, adult organism that remain in an undifferentiated, or unspecialized, state.
49. adventitious A structure arising at sites other than the usual ones, e.g. shoots from roots or leaves, and embryos from any cell other than a zygote.
50. Aerobe A microorganism that grows in the presence of oxygen. See Anaerobe.
51. Aerobic In biochemistry, reactions that need oxygen to happen or happen when oxygen is present.
52. aerobic respiration A chemical process in which oxygen is used to make energy from carbohydrates (sugars).
53. Affected relative pair Individuals related by blood, each of whom is affected with the same trait. Examples are affected sibling, cousin, and avuncular pairs.
54. affinity chromatography A method for purifying specific components in a solution by exploiting their specific binding to known molecule(s).
55. affinity tag An amino acid sequence that has been engineered into a protein to make its purification easier.
56. aflatoxins A group of toxic compounds, produced by Aspergillus flavus, that bind to DNA and prevent replication and transcription.
57. AFLP Abbreviation for amplified fragment length polymorphism.
58. Ag Abbreviation for antigen.
59. agar A polysaccharide gelifying agent used in nutrient media preparations and obtained from Rhodophyta (red algae).
60. agarose The main functional constituent of agar.
61. Agarose gel electrophoresis A matrix composed of a highly purified form of agar that is used to separate larger DNA and RNA molecules ranging 20,000 nucleotides. (See Electrophoresis.
62. Aggregate 1. A clump or mass formed by gathering or collecting units. 2. A body of loosely associated cells, such as a friable callus or cell suspension. 3.
63. Aggregation technique A technique used in model organism studies in which embryos at the 8-cell stage of development are pushed together to yield a single embryo (used as an…
64. agonist A drug that triggers an action from a cell or another drug.
65. Agrobacterium A genus of bacteria that includes several plant pathogenic species, causing tumour-like symptoms. See: Agrobacterium rhizogenes, Agrobacterium tumefaciens.
66. Agrobacterium rhizogenes A bacterium that causes hairy root disease in some plants. Similar to the crown gall disease caused by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, this is achieved by the…
67. Agrobacterium tumefaciens A bacterium that causes crown gall disease in some plants. The bacterium characteristically infects a wound, and incorporates a segment of Ti plasmid DNA…
68. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation The process of DNA transfer from Agrobacterium tumefaciens to plants, that occurs naturally during crown gall disease, and can be used as a method of…
69. AHG Abbreviation for antihaemophilic globulin.
70. AI Abbreviation for artificial insemination.
71. airlift fermenter A cylindrical fermentation vessel in which the cells are mixed by air introduced at the base of the vessel and that rises through the column of culture…
72. Alagille syndrome A rare inherited liver disorder seen in infants and young children. The disease is characterized by a buildup of bile in the liver due to a deficiency or…
73. albinism (AL-bye-niz-em) A group of genetic conditions marked by little or none of the pigment melanin in the skin, hair, and/or eyes.
74. albino 1. An organism lacking pigmentation, due to genetic factors. The condition is albinism 2. A conspicuous plastid mutant involving loss of chlorophyll.
75. aleurone The outermost layer of the endosperm in a seed, and the site of enzymes concerned with endosperm digestion during seedling growth.
76. algal biomass Single-celled plants (e.g. Chlorella spp. and Spirulina spp.) grown commercially in ponds to make feed materials for zooplankton, which are in turn…
77. alginate Polysaccharide gelling agent.
78. alkylating agent (AL-kuh-LAY-ting AY-jent) A type of drug that is used in the treatment of cancer. It interferes with the cell's DNA and inhibits cancer cell growth.
79. allele A variant form of a gene. In a diploid cell there are two alleles of every gene (one inherited from each parent, although they could be identical).
80. allele frequency The relative number of copies of an allele in a population, expressed as a proportion of the total number of copies of all alleles at a given locus in a…
81. allele-specific amplification (Abbreviation: ASA). The use of the polymerase chain reaction at a sufficiently high stringency that only one allele is amplified.
82. Alleles Alternate forms of a gene or DNA sequence, which occur on either of two homologous chromosomes in a diploid organism. (See DNA polymorphism.)
83. allelic (adj.) See allele.
84. allelic exclusion A phenomenon whereby only one functional allele of an antibody gene can be assembled in a given B lymphocyte.
85. allelomorph See: allele.
86. Allelopathy The secretion of chemicals, such as phenolic and terpenoid compounds, by a plant's roots, which inhibit the growth or reproduction of competitor plants.
87. allergen (AL-er-jen) A substance that causes an allergic response. Examples include pollen, molds, and certain foods.
88. allogamy Cross fertilization in plants. See: fertilization.
89. Allogeneic (A-loh-jeh-NAY-ik) Taken from different individuals of the same species. Also called allogenic.
90. Allogeneic cell transplantation Transplantation of cells from one individual to another of the same species.
91. Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant A transplant involving the infusion of a donor's genetically matched bone marrow or stem cells to produce new, healthy marrow.
92. Allogeneic transplantation Cell, tissue or organ transplants from one member of a species to a genetically different member of the same species.
93. allogenic Taken from different individuals of the same species. Also called allogeneic.
94. allometric When the growth rate of one part of an organism differs from that of another part or of the rest of the body.
95. Allopatric In the context of natural populations of animals or plants, inhabiting distinct and separate areas.
96. allopatric speciation Speciation occurring at least in part because of geographic isolation.
97. allopolyploid A polyploid organism with sets of chromosomes derived from different species. Opposite: autopolyploid.
98. allosome Synonym for sex chromosome.
99. allosteric control See: allosteric regulation.
100. allosteric enzyme An enzyme that has two structurally distinct forms, one of which is active and the other inactive.