Chapter 20: Biotechnology and Beyond

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts and terminology related to biotechnology.

Recombinant DNA technologies

Techniques used to combine DNA from different sources, allowing for gene manipulation and expression in host organisms.

Plasmids

Small circular DNA molecules used as vectors to transfer genetic material into cells.

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

A technique used to amplify specific DNA sequences, generating millions of copies from a small sample.

Gene therapy

A technique that replaces or augments defective genes with healthy alleles to treat genetic diseases.

CRISPR

A genome editing tool that allows for precise modifications to DNA sequences using a guide RNA and Cas9 enzyme.

Dideoxy sequencing

A method of DNA sequencing that uses dideoxynucleotides to terminate DNA strand elongation at specific nucleotides.

Short Tandem Repeats (STRs)

Repeated DNA sequences used in DNA profiling to identify individuals based on unique patterns.

Transgenic organism

An organism that has been genetically modified to carry genes from another species.

Gene editing

The alteration of an organism's DNA to achieve desired traits or characteristics.

Human Genome Project

An international effort to map and sequence all the genes in the human genome, completed from 1990 to 2003.