Concepts of Genetics: Genetic Analysis and Mapping in Bacteria and Bacteriophages

A collection of vocabulary flashcards intended to aid in studying key concepts of genetics, particularly genetic analysis and mapping in bacteria and bacteriophages.

Spontaneous mutation

A primary source of genetic variation in bacteria that occurs in the presence or absence of phages.

Adaptation hypothesis

Proposes that the interaction of bacteriophages and bacteria is essential for the bacterium's acquisition of immunity to phages.

Prototroph

A bacterium that can synthesize all essential organic compounds and therefore can grow on minimal medium.

Auxotroph

A mutant bacterium that cannot synthesize one or more essential compounds and must be provided with them in the medium to grow.

Conjugation

A process in bacteria where genetic information is transferred from one bacterium to another and recombined.

F factor

A fertility factor in bacteria that confers the ability to donate DNA during conjugation.

Hfr cell

A strain of bacteria with the F factor integrated into its chromosome, allowing it to donate genetic information.

Cotransformation

The phenomenon where genes that are close enough to each other can be transferred together during transformation.

Lysogeny

A state in which the phage DNA integrates into the bacterial chromosome and is replicated along with it.

Generalized transduction

A process in which bacterial DNA is packaged in a phage particle and transferred to a recipient host.

Specialized transduction

A process in which a small piece of bacterial DNA is packaged along with phage DNA.

Plaque assay

A technique to determine the number of phages produced by counting areas clear of bacteria on agar plates.

Merozygote

A partially diploid cell formed when an F' factor containing bacterial genes is transferred to an F- cell.

RecA protein

A protein essential for recombination involving single-strand displacement in bacteria.

RecBCD protein

A protein that unwinds double-stranded DNA for genetic recombination.

Plasmid

A double-stranded circular DNA molecule that replicates independently of the bacterial chromosome.

R plasmids

Plasmids that confer antibiotic resistance to bacteria.

Col plasmids

Plasmids that encode colicins which can kill neighboring bacteria.

Transformation

A process in which small pieces of extracellular DNA are taken up by a living bacterial cell.

Bacteriophage

A type of virus that infects bacteria by injecting its DNA.

Transduction

A method of bacterial genetic recombination mediated by bacteriophages.

Intergenic recombination

A form of genetic recombination that occurs between genes in bacteriophages.

Intragenic recombination

A form of recombination that occurs within a single gene.

Heteroduplex

A region where two strands of DNA, one from a host and one from a recombinant source, are not perfectly complementary.

Lederberg-Zinder experiment

An experiment that led to the discovery of phage transduction in bacteria.

Serial dilution

A technique used to reduce the concentration of a substance in a solution.

Exonuclease

An enzyme that removes nucleotides from the end of a DNA strand.

Complementation

The phenomenon where two mutations in different genes can restore wild-type function when present together.

Cistrons

Functional units of genetic material that correspond to a single gene.