updated ch6

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to molecular genetic techniques in cell biology.

Molecular Cell Biology

The study of cell function in terms of chemical and molecular mechanisms.

Proteins

Molecules that perform most cellular work, requiring study for understanding cell functions.

Gene Inactivation

A technique used in reverse genetics to study the effects of a specific gene's loss of function.

Alleles

Different forms or variants of a given gene.

Genotype

The genetic constitution of an individual.

Phenotype

The observable characteristic or trait of an individual, resulting from its genotype.

Recessive Mutation

A mutation that requires both copies of a gene to be mutated in order to observe a phenotype.

Dominant Mutation

A mutation that is expressed even when only one copy of the mutant allele is present.

Haploid

Having a single set of chromosomes.

Diploid

Having two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent.

Meiosis

A type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half and leads to the formation of gametes.

Transformation

The process by which foreign DNA is taken up and expressed by a cell.

Recombinant DNA Technology

Techniques used to combine DNA from different sources.

PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)

A method to amplify specific DNA sequences exponentially.

cDNA

Complementary DNA synthesized from messenger RNA.

RNA Interference (RNAi)

A biological process in which RNA molecules inhibit gene expression or translation.

CRISPR-Cas9

A revolutionary genome editing technique that allows for precise modifications in DNA.

Transgenic Organisms

Organisms that have been genetically modified to carry genes from other species.

Functional Complementation

A method of identifying the function of a gene by replacing a mutant allele with a wild-type allele.

dideoxyribonucleosides

Nucleotide analogs used in DNA sequencing that terminate DNA strand elongation.

Genomic Library

A collection of DNA fragments that represent the entire genome of an organism.

Shotgun Sequencing

A method of DNA sequencing that involves random fragmentation and sequencing of DNA.