MOLECULAR BASIS OF INHERITANCE
Genetics:Brach of biology which deals with the study of heredity and variation is called genetics.
Inheritance:Transmission of genetic characters from one generation to the next is called inheritance.
Nuclein:The acidic substance separated from the nucleus of the pus cell is called nuclein.
Variations:The difference that exists among the individual of the same species is called variation.
Virulent:Something which is able to cause infection is called virulent.
Non-virulent:Anything which is able to cause infection is called virulent.
Proteases:protein-digesting enzymes are called proteases.
RNAases:RNA-digesting enzyme are called RNAases.
DNAases: The DNA-digesting enzyme is called DNAases.
Bacteriophages:Virus infecting bacteria are called bacteriophage.
Virus:Acellular, microscopic infectious agent which are capable of multiplication only inside the host body are called a virus.
Nucleoid:The genetic material of prokaryote is called the nucleoid.
Histone:A simple protein which helps in the packaging of DNA in a prokaryote is called histone.
Non-Histone Chromosomal Proteins (NHC): The additional sets of proteins that contribute to the packaging of chromatin at a higher level.
Heterochromatin:In eukaryotic cells, the genetically less active and a tightly packed form of DNA or condensed DNA is called heterochromatin.
Euchromatin:In eukaryotic cells, the genetically active and a loosely packed form of DNA is called euchromatin.
Nucleotide:It is the monomer of nucleic acid which is made up of pentose sugar, nitrogen base and phosphate group is called a nucleotide.
Replication:The process by which DNA makes its own exact copy or replica is called replication.
Heterocatalytic function: When DNA directs the synthesis of chemical molecules other than itself, then such functions of DNA are called heterocatalytic functions.
Autocatalytic function: When DNA directs the synthesis of DNA itself, then such function of DNA is called autocatalytic function. Eg. Replication.
Nucleoplasm:The ground substance present inside the nucleus is called nucleoplasm.
Point of Origin or Initiation point: The point on the DNA molecule from where the replication of DNA start is called a point of origin.
Replicon:The unit of DNA in which replication occurs is called replicon.
Tandem repeats: When a pattern of one or more nucleotides is repeated and the repetitions are adjacent to each other then it is called tandem repeats.
Restriction endonuclease: The restriction enzyme which specifically cut the DNA within the recognition sequence is called restriction endonuclease.
phosphodiester bond: The bond which is present between the 5thand 3rd carbon of the two successive nucleotides is called phosphodiester bond or the sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA is called phosphodiester bond.
RNA primer: The small RNA molecule which helps in the replication of DNA is called RNA primer.
Leading template: The template strand with free 3’end is called leading template.
Lagging template: The template strand with free 5’ end is called lagging template.
Okazaki fragments: The fragments of DNA formed on lagging strand of DNA during replication is called Okazaki fragments.
Equilibrium - density - gradient – centrifugation: The technique of separating a DNA sample using density gradient centrifugation performed with heavy metal salts like caesium chloride.
Transcription:The process of formation of mRNA from DNA is called transcription.
Translation:The process of formation of protein from mRNA is called transcription.
Central dogma: The unidirectional flow of information from DNA to RNA to protein is referred to as central dogma.
Retroviruses or riboviruses: Viruses having RNA as their genetic material is called a retrovirus.
Reverse transcription: The process of formation of DNA from mRNA is called reverse transcription.
Codogen:The triplet present on the DNA is called codogen.
Codon:The triplet present on the mRNA is called a codon.
Anticodon:The triplet present on the tRNA is called the anticodon.
Mutation:Sudden change in the base sequence of DNA is called a mutation.
Transcription unit: The transcribed segment of DNA is called transcription unit. It consists of a promotor, structural gene and a terminator.
Template strand: The DNA strand used in the synthesis of DNA is called template strand.
Sense strand: The DNA strand oriented in 5’ to 3’ direction is called sense strand.
Antisense strand: The DNA strand oriented in 3’ to 5’ direction is called antisense strand.
Introns:Non-coding regions of DNA are called introns.
Exons:The coding regions of the DNA are called exons.
hnRNA:The mRNA having both introns and exons are called hnRNA.(heterogeneous nuclear).
snRNA:The small nuclear RNA which helps in the splicing of the other RNA is called snRNA.
Cistron:The sequence of DNA which specifies specific polypeptide during protein synthesis is called cistron.
Muton:The small element of genetic material which can undergo mutation is called muton.
Recon:The element of genetic material which can undergo recombination is called recon.
Monocistronic:A single structural gene in a transcription unit is said to be monocistronic.
Polycistronic:A long segment of DNA having a set of various structural genes in one transcription unit is referred to as polycistronic.
Primary transcripts: The RNA transcribed from DNA are called primary transcripts.
Splicing :The process of removal of introns from an immature mRNA is called splicing.
Capping:The process of adding methylated guanosine triphosphate to the 5’ end of hnRNA is called capping.
Tailing:The process of adding polyadenylate residue at 3’end of hnRNA is called tailing.
Genetic Code: The means by which DNA and RNA carries the genetic information is called genetic code.
Cryptogram:The coding language of mRNA is called a cryptogram.
Homopolymer:A polymer made up of the same type of monomer is called a homopolymer.
Degeneracy of genetic code: The property of genetic code where a single amino acid is coded by more than one codon.
Non-ambiguous:The property of genetic code where a particular codon always code for the same amino acid.
Recombination:A process by which pieces of DNA are broken and recombined to produce new combinations of DNA is called recombination.
Point mutation: The mutation which affects only single nucleotide of the nucleic acid is called a point mutation.
Translocation:Movement of mRNA one step ahead along the ribosome is called translocation.
Start codon: Codon which initiates the process of protein synthesis is called start codon. Eg. AUG.
Stop codon: Codon which terminates the process of protein synthesis is called stop codon. Eg. UAA, UAG, UGA.
Untranslated regions (UTR): Sequences of m-RNA that are not translated are referred to as untranslated regions (UTR).
Operon: The cluster of gene performing the common function is called an operon.
Repressor protein: The protein which binds to the operator region of the operon is called repressor protein.
Regulatory gene: The gene which controls the operator gene in cooperation with an inducer present in the cytoplasm is called a regulatory gene.
Promoter gene: This gene precedes the operator gene. It is present adjacent to the operator gene and serves as a binding site for enzyme RNA polymerase.
Operator gene: It precedes the structural genes. This controls the functioning of structural genes.
Genomics:The study of genomes through analysis, sequencing and mapping of genes along with the study of their functions is called genomics.
Structural genomics: Genomics which involves mapping, sequencing and analysis of genome is called structural genomics.
Functional genomics: Genomics which deals with the study of functions of all gene sequences and their expression in an organism.
Genome:The total genetic constitution of an organism or the total number of genes present in a haploid set of the chromosome is called a genome.
Bioinformatics:The interdisciplinary field of science which combines the knowledge of biology, computer science, information technology, mathematics and statistics to analyze and interpret the biological data is called bioinformatics.
Biotechnology:Branch of biology which deals with the study of technique that involves the use of living micro-organisms or their secretion to develop products for the human welfare.
DNA Fingerprinting: The technique of identifying individual depending on their DNA print pattern is called DNA fingerprinting or DNA profiling.
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP): The restriction enzymes cut the DNA into small fragments having variable lengths. This phenomenon is called Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP).
Gel electrophoresis: The technique which is use to separate DNA fragments as per their length under the influence of electricity is called gel electrophoresis.
Southern blotting: The technique by which separated DNA fragments are transferred to a nylon membrane or a nitrocellulose filter paper by placing it over the gel and soaking them with filter paper overnight is called southern blotting.
DNA probe: The radioactive or fluorescently labelled DNA is called probe DNA.
Hybridization: A technique which is used to detect the particular sequence of DNA or RNA in a complex mixture of DNA or RNA molecule is called hybridization.
Autoradiography:The technique by which nitrocellulose filter paper is photographed on an X-ray film is called autoradiography.
