genetic marker

A gene or group of genes used to "mark" or track the action of microbes.

A DNA sequence used to identify a particular location (locus) on a particular chromosome. See: marker gene.

Alteration in DNA that may indicate an increased risk of developing a specific disease or disorder.

A segment of DNA with an identifiable physical location on a chromosome and whose inheritance can be followed. A marker can be a gene, or it can be some section of DNA with no known function. Because DNA segments that lie near each other on a chromosome tend to be inherited together, markers are often used as indirect ways of tracking the inheritance pattern of a gene that has not yet been identified, but whose approximate location is known. See also chromosome, gene, inherited

A gene or other identifiable portion of DNA whose inheritance can be followed. See also: chromosome, DNA, gene, inherit