Biotechnology and Genetics — page 7 of 40

3,925 terms including subtopics (0 terms filed directly here)

Subtopics

Food Biotechnology 3,375 terms
Human Genome 456 terms
Stem Cell 423 terms

Biotechnology and Genetics terms

chitin A type of polysaccharide (sugar molecule) that is made by some plants and animals.
chitinase An enzyme which breaks down chitin.
Chloramphenicol An antibiotic that interferes with protein synthesis.
chlorenchyma Plant tissue (leaf mesophyll and other parenchyma cells) containing chloroplasts.
chlorophyll One of the two pigments responsible for the green colour of most plants. It is an essential component of the machinery to absorb light energy for…
chloroplast Specialized plastid that contains chlorophyll. Lens-shaped and bounded by a double membrane, chloroplasts contain membranous structures (thylakoids) piled…
Chloroplast chromosome Circular DNA found in the photosynthesizing organelle (chloroplast) of plants instead of the cell nucleus where most genetic material is located.
chloroplast DNA The DNA present in the chloroplast. Although the chloroplast has a small genome, the large number of chloroplasts per cell ensures that chloroplast DNA is…
chloroplast transit peptide (Abbreviation: CTP). A transit peptide that, when fused to a protein, acts to transport that protein into plant chloroplasts.
chlorosis The appearance of yellow colour in plants, due to the failure of development or the breakdown of chlorophyll.
Chondrocytes Cartilage cells.
Chorion The multilayered, outermost fetal membrane. As pregnancy progresses, part of the chorion becomes the placenta.
Chromatid Each of the two daughter strands of a duplicated chromosome joined at the centromere during mitosis and meiosis.
chromatin Substance of which eukaryotic chromosomes are composed. It consists of a complex of DNA, histone and non-histone chromosomal proteins (mainly histones)…
chromatin fibre The standard structural conformation of chromatin in strands of 30 nm average diameter.
Chromatography a method for separating mixtures based on differences in the speed at which they migrate over or through a stationary phase.
chromocentre Body produced by fusion of the heterochromatic regions of the chromosomes in the polytene tissues (e.g. the salivary glands) of certain Diptera.
chromogenic substrate A compound or substance that contains a colour-forming group.
Chromomere One of the serially aligned beads or granules of a eukaryotic chromosome, resulting from local coiling of a continuous DNA thread.
chromomeres Small dense bodies identified by their characteristic size and linear arrangement along a chromosome.
chromonema (pl.: chromonemata) An optically single thread forming an axial structure within each chromosome.
chromoplast Plastid containing pigments other than chlorophyll. See: chloroplast.
chromosomal aberration An abnormal change in chromosome structure or number, including deficiency, duplication, inversion, translocation, aneuploidy, polyploidy, or any other…
Chromosomal deletion The loss of part of a chromosome's DNA.
chromosomal integration site A chromosomal location where foreign DNA can be integrated, often without impairing any essential function in the host organism.
Chromosomal inversion Chromosome segments that have been turned 180 degrees. The gene sequence for the segment is reversed with respect to the rest of the chromosome.
chromosomal polymorphism The occurrence of one to several chromosomes in two or more alteRNA tive structural forms within a population; the structurally changed chromosomes are…
Chromosome (KROH-muh-some) Part of a cell that contains genetic information. Except for sperm and eggs, all human cells contain 46 chromosomes.
chromosome aberration See: chromosomal aberration.
chromosome banding Differential staining of chromosomes in such a way that light and dark areas occur along the length of the chromosomes in repeatable patterns.
chromosome jumping A technique that allows two segments of duplex DNA that are separated by thousands of base pairs (about 200 kb) to be cloned together.
chromosome landing An alteRNA tive to chromosome walking for positional cloning. Clones of genomic DNA are fragmented so as to include both the target gene and a closely…
chromosome mutation A change in the gross structure of a chromosome, usually causing severely deleterious effects in the organism, but can be maintained in a population (See…
Chromosome painting Attachment of certain fluorescent dyes to targeted parts of the chromosome. Used as a diagnositic for particular diseases, e.g. types of leukemia.
Chromosome region p A designation for the short arm of a chromosome.
Chromosome region q A designation for the long arm of a chromosome.
chromosome theory of inheritance The theory that chromosomes carry the genetic information and that their behaviour during meiosis provides the physical basis for segregation and…
Chromosome walking Working from a flanking DNA marker, overlapping clones are successively identified that span a chromosomal region of interest. (See Chromosome.)
Chromosomes The self-replicating genetic structure of cells containing the cellular DNA. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes.
chymosin An enzyme that clots milk, used in the manufacture of cheese.
ciliate (adj.) See cilium.
cilium (pl.: cilia) Hairlike locomotor structure on certain cells; a locomotor structure on a ciliate protozoan.
circadian Of physiological activity, etc.: recurring at approximately 24-hour intervals.
circularization The self-ligation of a linear DNA fragment having complementary ends, generally generated by digestion with a restriction endonuclease.
cis configuration See: coupling.
cis heterozygote A double heterozygote that contains two mutations arranged in a cis configuration (e.g. a+ b+ / a b).
cis-acting protein A protein with the particular property of acting only on the molecule of DNA from which it was expressed.
cis-acting sequence A nucleotide sequence that only affects the expression of genes located on the same chromosome.
Cistron A DNA sequence that codes for a specific polypeptide; a gene. See DNA, Gene.
class switching The process during which a plasma cell stops producing antibodies of one class and begins producing antibodies of another class.
Cleavage The process of cell division in the very early embryo before it becomes a blastocyst.
cleave To break phosphodiester bonds of double-stranded DNA, usually with a type II restriction endonuclease. Synonyms: cut; digest.
cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence A segment of DNA that can be amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and which contains a DNA sequence polymorphism.
cline Variation in one or more phenotypic characters or allele frequencies across a geographical gradient.
clonal propagation Asexual propagation of many new plants (ramet s) from an individual (ortet ); all have the same genotype.
clonal selection The production of a population of plasma cells all producing the same antibody in response to the interaction between a B lymphocyte producing that…
Clonality A line of cells that is genetically identical to the originating cell; in this case, a stem cell.
Clone An exact genetic replica of a specific gene or an entire organism. See Cloning.
Clone bank See: gene bank.
cloned strain or line A strain or line descended directly from a clone.
Cloning The mitotic division of a progenitor cell to give rise to a population of identical daughter cells or clones.
cloning site See: insertion site.
Cloning vector A small, self-replicating DNA molecule - usually a plasmid or viral DNA chromosome - into which foreign DNA is inserted in the process of cloning genes or…
cloning vehicle See: cloning vector.
closed continuous culture A culture system, in which the inflow of fresh medium is balanced by the outflow of corresponding volumes of spent medium.
Cluster differentiation (CD) Cell membrane molecules used to classify leukocytes into subsets.
cluster of differentiation See: CD molecules.
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.