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| A lineage of genetically identical individuals or cells. |
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| An agent used to transfer DNA in genetic engineering. A plasmid that moves recombinant DNA from a test tube back into a cell is an example of a cloning vector, as is a virus that transfers recombinant DNA by infection. |
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| A DNA molecule made in vitro using mRNA as a template and the enzyme reverse transcriptase. A cDNA molecule therefore corresponds to a gene, but lacks the introns present in the DNA of the genome. |
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| In proteins, a process in which a protein unravels and loses its native conformation, thereby becoming biologically inactive. In DNA, the separation of the two strands of the double helix. Denaturation occurs under extreme conditions of pH, salt concentration, and temperature. |
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| An individual’s unique collection of DNA restriction fragments, detected by electrophoresis and nucleic acid probes. |
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| A linking enzyme essential for DNA replication; catalyzes the covalent bonding of the 3’ end of a new DNA fragment to the 5’ end of a growing chain. |
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| A method to detect and measure the expression of thousands of genes at one time. Tiny amounts of a large number of single-stranded DNA fragments representing different genes are fixed to a glass slide. These fragments, ideally representing all the genes of an organism, are tested for hybridization with various samples of cDNA molecules. |
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| The separation of nucleic acids or proteins, on the basis of their size and electrical charge, by measuring their rate of movement through an electrical field in a gel. |
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| The production of multiple copies of a gene. |
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| The alteration of the genes of a person afflicted with a genetic disease. |
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| The direct manipulation of genes for practical purposes. |
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| genetically modified (GM) organism |
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| An organism that has acquired one or more genes by artificial means; also known as a transgenic organism. |
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| The study of whole sets of genes and their interactions. |
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| An international collaborative effort to map and sequence the DNA of the entire human genome. |
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| A genetic map based on the frequencies of recombination between markers during crossing over of homologous chromosomes. |
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| In DNA technology, a labeled single-stranded nucleic acid molecule used to tag a specific nucleotide sequence in a nucleic acid sample. Molecules of the probe hydrogen-bond to the complementary sequence wherever it occurs; radioactive or other labeling of the probe allows its location to be detected. |
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| polymerase chain reaction (PCR) |
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Definition
| A technique for amplifying DNA in vitro by incubating with special primers, DNA polymerase molecules, and nucleotides. |
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| The systematic study of the full protein sets (proteomes) encoded by genomes. |
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| A DNA molecule made in vitro with segments from different sources. |
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| A degradative enzyme that recognizes and cuts up DNA (including that of certain phages) that is foreign to a bacterium. |
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| DNA segment resulting from cutting of DNA by a restriction enzyme. |
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| restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) |
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Definition
| Differences in DNA sequence on homologous chromosomes that can result in different patterns of restriction fragment lengths (DNA segments resulting from treatment with restriction enzymes); useful as genetic markers for making linkage maps. |
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| A specific sequence on a DNA strand that is recognized as a cut siteby a restriction enzyme. |
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| single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) |
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| One base-pair variation in the genome sequence. |
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| A hybridization technique that enables researchers to determine the presence of certain nucleotide sequences in a sample of DNA. |
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| A single-stranded end of a double-stranded DNA restriction fragment. |
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| A plasmid of a tumor-inducing bacterium that integrates a segment of its DNA into the host chromosome of a plant; frequently used as a carrier for genetic engineering in plants. |
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| The changes that occur within a cell as it undergoes programmed cell death, which is brought about by signals that trigger the activation of a cascade of suicide proteins in the cell destined to die. |
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| The structural and functional divergence of cells as they become specialized during a multicellular organism’s development; dependent on the control of gene expression. |
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| An ogranism with a mixture of genetically different cells. |
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| Using a somatic cell from a multicellular organism to make one or more genetically identical individuals. |
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| The maternal substances in the egg that influence the course of early development by regulating the expression of genes that affect the developmental fate of cells. |
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| A 180-nucleotide sequence within homeotic genes and some other developmental genes that is widely conserved in animals. Related sequences occur in plants and prokaryotes. |
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| Any of the genes that control the overall body plan of animals and plants by controlling the developmental fate of groups of cells. |
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| The ability of one group of embryonic cells to influence the development of another. |
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| The development of body shape and organization. |
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| Describing a stem cell, from an embryo or adult organism, that can give rise to multiple but not all differentiated cell types. |
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| Any relatively unspecialized cell that can divide during a single division into one identical daughter cell and one more specialized daughter cell, which can undergo further differentiation. |
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| Describing a cell that can give rise to all parts of an organism. |
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