Key Terms
- antibiotic resistance
- ability of an organism to be unaffected by an antibiotic’s actions
- biomarker
- individual protein that is uniquely produced in a diseased state
- biotechnology
- use of biological agents for technological advancement
- cDNA library
- collection of cloned cDNA sequences
- cellular cloning
- production of identical cell populations by binary fission
- chain termination method
- method of DNA sequencing using labeled dideoxynucleotides to terminate DNA replication; it is also called the dideoxy method or the Sanger method
- clone
- exact replica
- contig
- larger sequence of DNA assembled from overlapping shorter sequences
- cytogenetic mapping
- technique that uses a microscope to create a map from stained chromosomes
- deoxynucleotide
- individual DNA monomer (single unit)
- dideoxynucleotide
- individual DNA monomer that is missing a hydroxyl group (–OH)
- DNA microarray
- method to detect gene expression by analyzing many DNA fragments that are fixed to a glass slide or a silicon chip to identify active genes and identify sequences
- expressed sequence tag (EST)
- short STS that is identified with cDNA
- false negative
- incorrect test result that should have been positive
- foreign DNA
- DNA that belongs to a different species or DNA that is artificially synthesized
- gel electrophoresis
- technique used to separate molecules on the basis of size using electric charge
- gene targeting
- method for altering the sequence of a specific gene by introducing the modified version on a vector
- gene therapy
- technique used to cure inheritable diseases by replacing mutant genes with good genes
- genetic diagnosis
- diagnosis of the potential for disease development by analyzing disease-causing genes
- genetic engineering
- alteration of the genetic makeup of an organism
- genetic map
- outline of genes and their location on a chromosome
- genetic marker
- gene or sequence on a chromosome with a known location that is associated with a specific trait
- genetic recombination
- DNA exchange between homologous chromosome pairs
- genetic testing
- process of testing for the presence of disease-causing genes
- genetically modified organism (GMO)
- organism whose genome has been artificially changed
- genome annotation
- process of attaching biological information to gene sequences
- genome mapping
- process of finding the location of genes on each chromosome
- genomic library
- collection of cloned DNA which represents all of the sequences and fragments from a genome
- genomics
- study of entire genomes including the complete set of genes, their nucleotide sequence and organization, and their interactions within a species and with other species
- host DNA
- DNA that is present in the genome of the organism of interest
- linkage analysis
- procedure that analyzes recombining genes to determine if they are linked
- lysis buffer
- solution to break the cell membrane and release cell contents
- metabolome
- complete set of metabolites which are related to an organism’s genetic makeup
- metabolomics
- study of small molecule metabolites in an organism
- metagenomics
- study of multiple species’ collective genomes that grow and interact in an environmental niche
- microsatellite polymorphism
- variation between individuals in the sequence and number of microsatellite DNA repeats
- model organism
- species that researchers study and use as a model to understand the biological processes in other species represented by the model organism
- molecular cloning
- cloning of DNA fragments
- multiple cloning site (MCS)
- site that multiple restriction endonucleases can recognize
- next-generation sequencing
- group of automated techniques for rapid DNA sequencing
- Northern blotting
- transfer of RNA from a gel to a nylon membrane
- pharmacogenomics
- study of drug interactions with the genome or proteome; also called toxicogenomics
- physical map
- representation of the physical distance between genes or genetic markers
- polygenic
- phenotypic characteristic caused by two or more genes
- polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
- technique to amplify DNA
- probe
- small DNA fragment to determine if the complementary sequence is present in a DNA sample
- protease
- enzyme that breaks down proteins
- protein signature
- set of uniquely expressed proteins in the diseased state
- proteome
- entire set of proteins that cell type produces
- proteomics
- study of proteomes’ function
- pure culture
- growth of a single cell type in the laboratory
- radiation hybrid mapping
- information obtained by fragmenting the chromosome with x-rays
- recombinant DNA
- combining DNA fragments that molecular cloning generates that do not exist in nature; also a chimeric molecule
- recombinant protein
- a gene’s protein product derived by molecular cloning
- reproductive cloning
- entire organism cloning
- restriction endonuclease
- enzyme that can recognize and cleave specific DNA sequences
- restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP)
- variation between individuals in the length of DNA fragments, which restriction endonucleases generate
- reverse genetics
- method of determining the gene’s function by starting with the gene itself instead of starting with the gene product
- reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR)
- PCR technique that involves converting RNA to DNA by reverse transcriptase
- ribonuclease
- enzyme that breaks down RNA
- sequence mapping
- mapping information obtained after DNA sequencing
- shotgun sequencing
- method used to sequence multiple DNA fragments to generate the sequence of a large piece of DNA
- single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
- variation between individuals in a single nucleotide
- Southern blotting
- DNA transfer from a gel to a nylon membrane
- systems biology
- study of whole biological systems (genomes and proteomes) based on interactions within the system
- Ti plasmid
- plasmid system derived from Agrobacterium tumefaciens that scientists have used to introduce foreign DNA into plant cells
- transgenic
- organism that receives DNA from a different species
- variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs)
- variation in the number of tandem repeats between individuals in the population
- whole-genome sequencing
- process that determines an entire genome’s DNA sequence
