Biology GENES
Terms
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- egg polarity genes
- Another name for maternal effect genes, these genes control the orientation (polarity) of the egg
- Gene Cloning
- The production of multiple copies of a gene
- Cloning Vector
- 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.
- embryonic lethals
- Mutations with phenotypes leading to death at the embryo or larval stage.
- Model Organism
- An organism chosen to study broad biological principles.
- Complementary DNA
- 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.
- Cloning
- Using a somatic cell from a multicellular organism to make one or more genetically identical individuals.
- Recombinant DNA
- A DNA molecule made in vitro with segments from different sources.
- induction
- The ability of one group of embryonic cells to influence the development of another.
- DNA Ligase
- A linking enzyme essential for DNA replication; catalyzes the covalent bonding of the 39 end of a new DNA fragment to the 59 end of a growing chain.
- apoptosis
- Programmed cell death brought about by signals that trigger the activation of a cascade of "suicide" proteins in the cells destined to die.
- chimeras
- eukaryotes are genetic ____, they have combined genomes of at least three different prokayroyes.
- Differentiation
- The structural and functional divergence of cells as they become specialized during a multicellular organism's development; dependent on the control of gene expression.
- Electroporation
- A technique to introduce recombinant DNA into cells by applying a brief electrical pulse to a solution containing cells. The electricity creates temporary holes in the cells' plasma membranes, through which DNA can enter.
- homeotic genes
- Any of the genes that control the overall body plan of animals by controlling the developmental fate of groups of cells.
- Gel Electrophoresis
- 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.
- determination
- The progressive restriction of developmental potential, causing the possible fate of each cell to become more limited as the embryo develops.
- Cell Lineage
- The ancestry of a cell.
- cytoplasmic determinants
- The maternal substances in the egg that influences the course of early development by regulating the expression of genes that affect the developmental fate of cells.
- Morphogenesis
- The development of body shape and organization during ontogeny.
- Bioinformatics
- merge of biotechnology and information technology to find new insights and principles in biology
- pattern formation
- The ordering of cells into specific three-dimensional structures, an essential part of shaping an organism and its individual parts during development.
- Southern Blotting
- A hybridization technique that enables researchers to determine the presence of certain nucleotide sequences in a sample of DNA.
- Genetic Engineering
- The direct manipulation of genes for practical purposes.
- gap genes
- Mutations in these genes cause "gaps" in Drosophila segmentation. The normal gene products map out the basic subdivisions along the anterior-posterior axis of the embryo.
- Genomic Library
- A set of thousands of DNA segments from a genome, each carried by a plasmid, phage, or other cloning vector.
- Genomics
- The study of whole sets of genes and their interactions.
- cDNA library
- collection of clones containing DNA made from a mRNA molecule
- Genetically Modified Organism
- An organism that has acquired one or more genes by artificial means; also known as a transgenic organism.
- positional information
- Signals to which genes regulating development respond, indicating a cell's location relative to other cells in an embryonic structure.
- Stem Cell
- In the bone marrow, a type of cell that gives rise to all the types of blood cells.
- Biotechnology
- The manipulation of living organisms or their components to produce useful products.
- Polymerase Chain Reaction
- A technique for amplifying DNA in vitro by incubating with special primers, DNA polymerase molecules, and nucleotides.
- DNA Fingerprint
- An individual's unique collection of DNA restriction fragments, detected by electrophoresis and nucleic acid probes.
- Human Genome Project
- An international collaborative effort to map and sequence the DNA of the entire human genome.
- homeobox
- A 180-nucleotide sequence within a homeotic gene encoding the part of the protein that binds to the DNA of the genes regulated by the protein.
- Gene Therapy
- The alternation of the genes of a person afflicted with a genetic disease.
- organ identity gene
- A plant gene in which a mutation causes a floral organ to develop in the wrong location.
- Restriction Enzyme
- A degradative enzyme that recognizes and cuts up DNA (including that of certain phages) that is foreign to a bacterium.
- Denaturation
- For proteins, a process in which a protein unravels and loses its native conformation, thereby becoming biologically inactive. For DNA, the separation of the two strands of the double helix. Denaturation occurs under extreme conditions of pH, salt concentration, and temperature.
- Expression Vector
- A cloning vector that contains the requisite prokaryotic promoter just upstream of a restriction site where a eukaryotic gene can be inserted.