Biotechnology and Genetics terms starting with C

393 terms

CM Abbreviation for centiMorgan.
CMP Abbreviation for cytidine monophosphate. See: cytidylic acid.
co-cloning The unintentional cloning of DNA fragments, along with the desired one, that can occur when the source of DNA being cloned is not sufficiently purified.
co-culture A mixture of two or more different kinds of cells that are grown together.
co-dominance Where both alleles are expressed in the heterozygous state, so that the phenotype reflects a contribution from both alleles.
co-dominant alleles See: co-dominance.
co-enzyme Synonym for co-factor.
co-evolution The evolution of complementary adaptations in two species brought about by the selection pressure that each exerts on the other.
co-factor An organic molecule or inorganic ion necessary for the normal catalytic activity of an enzyme. Synonym: co-enzyme.
co-fermentation The simultaneous growth of two micro-organisms in one bioreactor.
co-integrate A chimeric DNA molecule formed by the incorporation at a single site of two different DNA molecules.
co-integrate vector system A two plasmid system for plant transgenesis. One plasmid is engineered to carry a T-DNA segment incorporating the gene(s) to be introduced.
co-linearity 1. A general relationship in which the units in one molecule occur in the same sequence as the units in another molecule which they specify; e.g.
co-repressor An effector molecule that forms a complex with a repressor and turns off the expression of a gene or set of genes.
co-segregation The joint inheritance of two characters, usually the result of genetic linkage.
co-suppression A natural gene silencing phenomenon, which probably evolved as part of plants' defence against viral attack, but which has become important in the context…
co-transfection The procedure by which a baculovirus and a transfer vector are simultaneously introduced into insect cells in culture.
co-transformation A protocol for producing transgenesis, in which host (plant or animal) cells are transformed simultaneously with two different plasmids, one of which…
coat protein See: capsid.
Coat protein (capsid) The coating of a protein that enclosed the nucleic acid core of a virus.
coccus A spherical bacterium.
coconut milk Liquid endosperm of the coconut, often used to supply organic nutrients to in vitro cultures of plant cells and tissues.
CODE See: genetic code
Codex Alimentarius Commission An international regulatory body (part of FAO) responsible for the definition of a set of international food standards.
coding Litigation Support: Automated or human process through which documents are examined and evaluated using predetermined codes, and the results of those…
coding sequence That portion of a gene which directly specifies the amino acid sequence of its product.
coding strand The strand of a DNA double helix that contains the same base sequence (after substituting U for T) found in the mRNA molecule resulting from transcription…
Codominance Situation in which two different alleles for a genetic trait are both expressed. See also: autosomal dominant, recessive gene
Codon A group of three nucleotides that specifies addition of one of the 20 amino acids during translation of an mRNA into a polypeptide.
codon optimization An experimental strategy in which codons within a cloned gene - ones not generally used by the host cell translation system - are changed by in vitro…
Coenzyme (cofactor) An organic molecule, such as a vitamin, that binds to an enzyme and is required for its catalytic activity.
Cofactor See Coenzyme.
cohesive end See: extension.
coincidence The ratio of the observed to the expected frequency of double cross-overs, where the expected frequency is calculated by assuming that the two cross-over…
Coisogenic or congenic Nearly identical strains of an organism; they vary at only a single locus.
colchicine An alkaloid, obtained from the autumn crocus Colchicum autumnale, which inhibits spindle formation.
coleoptile Protective sheath covering the shoot apex of the embryo in the grasses.
coleorhiza A protective sheath surrounding the radicle in the grasses.
collenchyma A tissue of living cells, found particularly in midribs and leaf petioles. Characterized by cell walls unevenly thickened with cellulose and…
Colony A group of identical cells (clones) derived from a single progenitor cell.
colony hybridization A technique that uses a nucleic acid probe to identify a recombinant bacterial colony carrying a particular inserted DNA.
Colony-forming cells Groups of cells growing on a solid nutrient surface with each group being created from the multiplication of an individual cell.
Colony-stimulating factors Diffusible proteins that stimulate the proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells.
combinatorial library The many novel combinations (consisting of one heavy and one light immunoglobulin chain coding region) that are generated when a heavy-chain library is…
combining site See: antibody binding site.
Commensalism The close association of two or more dissimilar organisms where the association is advantageous to one and doesn't affect the other(s).
companion cell A living cell associated with the sieve cell of phloem tissue in vascular plants.
Comparative genomics The study of human genetics by comparisons with model organisms such as mice, the fruit fly, and the bacterium E. coli.
comparative mapping The comparison of map locations of genes and markers between species. In comparisons between closely related species, this will usually uncover a high…
comparative positional candidate gene Relates to an indirect means of assigning function to a QTL. Where a QTL has been linked to a marker in one species, and that same marker is linked to a…
Competency An ephemeral state, induced by treatment with cold cations, during which bacterial cells are capable of uptaking foreign DNA.
competent 1. Bacterial cells able to take up foreign DNA molecules and thereby become genetically transformed.
complement proteins Protein s that bind to antibody -antigen complexes and help degrade the complexes by proteolysis.
complementarity 1. See: complementary. 2. The similar correspondence between DNA and the mRNA transcribed from it.
complementarity-determining regions (Abbreviation: CDR). Regions of the light and heavy subunits of the immunoglobulin molecules that interact with the antigen.
complementary Two DNA molecules are complementary to one another when each successive base position from the 5' end in the first molecule is matched by the…
complementary DNA (Abbreviation: cDNA ). A DNA strand synthesized in vitro from a mature RNA template using reverse transcriptase.
Complementary DNA (cDNA) DNA that is synthesized in the laboratory from a messenger RNA template.
Complementary DNA or RNA The matching strand of a DNA or RNA molecule to which its bases pair. (See DNA, RNA.)
complementary entity 1. Synonym of base pair. 2. One of a pair of segments or strands of nucleic acid that will hybridize with one another.
complementary genes Two or more interdependent genes, such that (in the case of dominant complementarity) the dominant allele from either gene can only produce an effect on…
complementary homopolymeric tailing The process of adding complementary nucleotide extensions to DNA molecules, (e.g.
Complementary nucleotides Members of the pairs adenine-thymine, adenine-uracil, and guaninecytosine that have the ability to hydrogen bond to one another. (See nucleotide.)
Complementary sequence Nucleic acid base sequence that can form a double-stranded structure with another DNA fragment by following base-pairing rules (A pairs with T and C with…
complementation See: genetic complementation.
complementation test A genetic method to test whether or not independent mutations are allelic. In a cross between the two mutant individuals, the genotype will be m1m2 if the…
complete digest The treatment of a DNA preparation with a restriction endonuclease for sufficient time for all of the potential target sites within that DNA to have been…
Complex trait Trait that has a genetic component that does not follow strict Mendelian inheritance.
composite transposon A transposon formed when two identical or nearly identical transposons insert on either side of a non-transposable segment of DNA.
compound chromosome A chromosome formed by the fusion of two separate chromosomes, as in attached-X chromosomes or attached-X-Y chromosomes.
Computational biology See: bioinformatics
Concatemer A DNA segment composed of repeated sequences linked end to end.
concordance Identity of matched pairs or groups for a given trait, such as sibs expressing the same trait.
conditional lethal mutation A mutation that is lethal under one set of environmental conditions (the restrictive conditions, commonly associated with high temperature) but is viable…
conditioning 1. The effects on phenotypic characters of external agents during critical developmental stages. 2.
Confidentiality In genetics, the expectation that genetic material and the information gained from testing that material will not be available without the donor's consent.
conformation The various three dimensional shapes that can be adopted by a given molecule. In particular, the different ways in which the of a biological polymer may…
Congenital Any trait or condition that exists from birth. See also
conidium (pl.: conidia) An produced by a specialized hypha in certain fungi.
Conjugation The joining of two bacteria cells when genetic material is transferred from one bacterium to another.
conjugative functions Plasmid-based genes and their products that facilitate the transfer of a plasmid from one bacterium to another via conjugation.
consanguinity Related by descent from a common ancestor.
consensus sequence The part of a gene or signal sequence that is shared over a wide range of members of a gene family, both within a given species, or in comparisons between…
Conservation See: gene (resources) conservation, conserved sequence
Conserved sequence An identical or highly similar sequence of nucleotides or amino acids which occurs as part, or all of a number of different genes or protein s, in either…
constant domains Regions of antibody chains that have the same amino acid sequence in different members of a particular class of antibody molecules.
constitutive The expression of a gene without any requirement for induction.
Constitutive ablation Gene expression that results in cell death.
constitutive gene A gene that is continually expressed in all cells of an organism.
Constitutive promoter An unregulated promoter that allows for continual transcription of its associated gene. (See Promoter.)
constitutive synthesis Continual synthesis of a gene product by an organism.
construct An engineered chimeric DNA designed to be transferred into a cell or tissue. Typically, the construct comprises the gene or genes of interest, a marker…
contained use See: containment.
containment Measures and protocols applied to limit contact of genetically modified organisms or pathogens with the external environment. Synonym: contained use.
Contaminant 1. An undesired chemical present in a compound or mixture of compounds. 2. Any micro-organism accidentally introduced into a culture or culture medium.
contig A set of overlapping cloned DNA fragments that can be assembled to represent a defined region of the chromosome or genome from which they were obtained.
Contig map A map depicting the relative order of a linked library of overlapping clones representing a complete chromosomal segment.
Contiguous (contig) map The alignment of sequence data from large, adjacent regions of the genome to produce a continuous nucleotide sequence across a chromosomal region.
continuous culture A suspension culture continuously supplied with nutrients by the inflow of fresh medium. The culture volume is normally constant.
continuous fermentation A process in which cells or micro-organisms are maintained in culture in the exponential growth phase by the continuous addition of fresh medium that is…