Biotechnology and Genetics terms starting with B

182 terms

B cell A white blood cell that comes from bone marrow. As part of the immune system, B cells make antibodies and help fight infections. Also called B lymphocyte.
B cells Also known as B lymphocytes. Each B cell is capable of making one specific antibody.
B chromosome A supernumerary chromosome present in some individuals (both plant and animal).
B lymphocyte A white blood cell that comes from bone marrow. As part of the immune system, B lymphocytes make antibodies and help fight infections. Also called B cell.
BABS Abbreviation for biosynthetic antibody binding sites.
BAC Abbreviation for bacterial artificial chromosome.
Bacillus A rod-shaped bacterium.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Abbreviation: Bt). A bacterium that produces a toxin against certain insects, particularly Coloeoptera and Lepidoptera; a major means of insecticide for…
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) A bacterium that kills insects; a major component of the microbial pesticide industry.
back mutation A second mutation at the same site in a gene as the original mutation. The second mutation restores the wild-type protein sequence.
Backcross Crossing an organism with one of its parent organisms.
Bacteria (bak-TEER-ee-uh) A large group of single-cell microorganisms. Some cause infections and disease in animals and humans.
bacterial artificial chromosome A plasmid vector that can be used to clone large inserts of DNA (up to 500 kb). See: yeast artificial chromosome.
Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) Large segments of DNA, 100,000 to 200,000 bases, from another species cloned into bacteria.
bacterial toxin (bak-TEER-ee-ul TOK-sin) A toxic substance, made by bacteria, that can be modified to kill specific tumor cells without harming normal cells.
Bacteriocide A class of antibiotics that kills bacterial cells.
bacteriocin A protein produced by bacteria of one strain and active against those of a closely related strain.
Bacteriophage (Abbreviation: phage). A virus that infects bacteria. Altered forms are used as cloning vectors. See: lambda phage, M13.
Bacteriophage (phage or phage particle) A virus that in- fects bacteria. Altered forms are used as vectors for cloning DNA.
Bacteriostat A class of antibiotics that prevents growth of bacterial cells.
Bacterium More than one bacteria.
baculovirus A class of insect virus used to make DNA cloning vectors for gene expression in eukaryotic cells.
baculovirus expression vector (Abbreviation: BEV). A method for the in vitro production of complex recombinant eukaryotic protein s.
balanced lethal system A system for maintaining a recessive lethal allele at each of two loci on the same pair of chromosomes.
balanced polymorphism Two or more phenotypes maintained in the same breeding population.
Bank America has a "dual banking system" which means that both states and the federal government issue bank charters for the need and convenience of their…
bar gene See: pat gene.
barnase A bacterial ribonuclease, which, when transformed into plants and expressed in the anthers, generates a male sterile phenotype.
Barr body A condensed mass of chromatin found in the nuclei of female mammals. It is a late-replicating, inactive X-chromosome. See: dosage compensation, sex linkage
barstar protein A polypeptide inhibitor of barnase.
basal 1. Located at the base of a plant or a plant organ. 2. A fundamental formulation of a tissue culture medium containing nutrients but no growth promoting…
base One of the components of nucleosides, nucleotides and nucleic acids . Four different bases are found in naturally occurring DNA - the purines A (adenine )…
base analogue A non-natural purine or pyrimidine base that differs slightly in structure from the normal bases, but can be incorporated into nucleic acids .
base pair combination of 2 nucleotides (A and T or G and C) held together by weak hydrogen bonds; the DNA double helix is formed when a base pair of nucleotides in…
Base pair (bp) A pair of complementary nitrogenous bases in a DNA molecule--adenine-thymine and guanine-cytosine. Also, the unit of measurement for DNA sequences.
Base sequence The order of nucleotide bases in a DNA molecule; determines structure of proteins encoded by that DNA.
Base sequence analysis A method, sometimes automated, for determining the base sequence.
base substitution Replacement of one base by another in a DNA molecule. See: transition; transversion.
basic fibroblast growth factor (Abbreviation: BFGF). See: fibroblasts.
basipetal Developing, in sequence, from the apex towards the base. See: acropetal.
basophil A type of white blood cell. Basophils are granulocytes.
batch culture A suspension culture in which cells grow in a finite volume of liquid nutrient medium and follow a sigmoid pattern of growth.
batch fermentation See: batch culture.
Behavioral genetics The study of genes that may influence behavior.
bench-scale process A small- or laboratory-scale process; commonly used in connection with fermentation.
beta-DNA The normal form of DNA found in biological systems, which exists as a right-handed helix.
beta-galactosidase A bacterial enzyme that catalyses the cleavage of lactose into glucose and galactose, commonly used as a marker in DNA cloning.
beta-glucuronidase (Abbreviation: GUS). An enzyme produced by certain bacteria, which catalyses the cleavage of a whole range of beta-glucuronides.
beta-Lactamase Ampicillin resistance gene. (See Selectable marker.)
beta-sitosterol See: phytosterol.
BEV Abbreviation for baculovirus expression vector.
BFGF Abbreviation for basic fibroblast growth factor.
Biennial A plant which completes its life cycle within two years and then dies.
bifunctional vector See: shuttle vector.
binary vector system A two plasmid system in Agrobacterium tumefaciens designed to transfer T-DNA into plant cells, while avoiding the formation of crown gall tumours.
binding The ability of molecules to bind each other non-covalently because of the exact shape and chemical nature of parts of their surfaces.
bio- A prefix used in scientific words to associate the concept of "living organisms.
bio-accumulation A problem that can arise when a stable chemical such as a heavy metal or DDT is introduced into a natural environment.
bio-assay 1. The assessment of a substance's activity on living cells or on organisms. Animals have been used extensively in drug research in bio-assays in the…
bio-augmentation Increasing the activity of bacteria that decompose pollutants; a technique used in bioremediation.
bio-energetics The study of the flow and the transformation of energy that occur in living organisms.
bio-engineering The use of artificial tissues, organs and organ components to replace parts of the body that are damaged, lost or malfunctioning.
bio-enrichment Adding nutrients or oxygen to increase microbial breakdown of pollutants.
bio-ethics The branch of ethics that deals with the life sciences and their potential impact on society.
bio-informatics The use and organization of information of biological interest. In particular, concerned with organizing bio-molecular databases (particularly DNA…
Bioaugmentation Increasing the activity of bacteria that decompose pollutants; a technique used in bioremediation.
bioavailability The proportion of a nutrient or administered drug etc. that can be taken up by an organism in a biologically effective form.
Biobased products Fuels, chemicals, building materials, or electric power or heat produced from biological material(s).
biocatalysis The use of enzymes to improve the efficiency of chemical reactions.
biochip See: DNA chip.
biocontrol Pest control by biological means. Any process using deliberately introduced living organisms to restrain the growth and development of other organisms…
bioconversion Conversion of one chemical into another by living organisms, as opposed to their conversion by isolated enzymes or fixed cells, or by chemical processes.
Biodegradable Capable of being biodegraded.
biodegrade The breakdown by micro-organisms of a compound to simpler chemicals. Materials that are easily biodegraded are colloquially termed biodegradable.
biodesulphurization The removal of organic and inorganic sulphur from coal by bacterial and soil micro-organisms.
Biodiversity The wide diversity and interrelatedness of earth organisms based on genetic and environmental factors.
Bioenrichment Adding nutrients or oxygen to increase microbial breakdown of pollutants.
Biofilms See Microbial mats.
Biofuel A gaseous, liquid or solid fuel derived from a biological source, e.g. ethanol, rapeseed oil or fish liver oil.
Biogas A mixture of methane and carbon dioxide resulting from the anaerobic decomposition of waste such as domestic, industrial and agricultural sewage.
Bioinformatics (BY-oh-in-for-MA-tix) The science of using computers, databases, and math to organize and analyze large amounts of biological, medical, and health…
bioleaching The recovery of metals from their ores, using the action of micro-organisms, rather than chemical or physical treatment.
biolistics A technique to generate transgenic cells, in which DNA -coated small metal particles (tungsten or gold) are propelled by various means fast enough to…
biological ageing See: senescence.
Biological boundaries A concept that differentiates one organism from another and suggests that organisms cannot or should not exchange genetic material.
biological containment Restricting the movement of organisms from the laboratory. Can take two forms: making the organism unable to survive in the outside environment, or making…
biological control See: biocontrol.
Biological diversity See: biodiversity.
Biological oxygen demand (Abbreviation: BOD). The dissolved oxygen required for the respiration of a population of aerobic organisms present in water.
Biologics Agents, such as vaccines, that give immunity to diseases or harmful biotic stresses.
bioluminescence The enzyme-catalyzed production of light by a number of diverse organisms (e.g. fireflies and many deep ocean marine organisms).
biomagnification See: bio-accumulation.
Biomass The aggregate amount of living matter or a specific species within a specific habitat, or the total number of a specific species in a specific habitat.
biomass concentration The amount of biological material in a specific volume.
Biome A major ecological community or complex of communities, extending over a large geographical area and characterized by a dominant type of vegetation.
biometry (by-AH-meh-tree) The science of collecting and analyzing biologic or health data using statistical methods.
biomimetic materials Employed to describe synthetic analogues of natural materials with advantageous properties.
biopesticide A compound that kills organisms by virtue of specific biological effects rather than as a broader chemical poison.
Biopharming The use of genetically transformed crop plants and livestock animals to produce valuable compounds, especially pharmaceuticals.
biopiracy The patenting of genetic stocks, and the subsequent privatization of genetic resources collections.