DNA ligase

An enzyme that catalyses a reaction that links two DNA molecules via the formation of a phospho-diester bond between the 3´ hydroxyl and 5´ phosphate of adjacent nucleotides. It plays an important role in DNA repair and replication. DNA ligase is one of the essential tools of recombinant DNA technology, enabling (among…

DNA hybridization

The pairing of two DNA molecules, often from different sources, by hydrogen bonding between complementary nucleotides. This technique is frequently used to detect the presence of a specific nucleotide sequence in a DNA sample.

comparative positional candidate gene

A gene that is likely to be located in the same region as a DNA marker that has been shown to be linked to a single-locus trait or to a quantitative trait locus (QTL), where the gene's likely location in the genome of the species in question is based on its known location in the map of another species, i.e., is based…

comparative gene mapping

The comparison of map locations of genes between species. The results of these comparisons indicate substantial conservation of blocks of genes and even large segments of chromosomes between species. Great use can be made of this conservation of map position. For example, in the case of mammals, it means that if a gene…

chromosome walking

A technique that identifies overlapping cloned DNA fragments that form one continuous segment of a chromosome. These fragments can be generated either by random shearing or by partial digestion with a four-base-pair cutter such as Sau3A. A series of colony hybridizations is then carried out, starting with some cloned…

chromosome theory of inheritance

The theory that chromosomes carry the genetic information and that their behaviour during meiosis provides the physical basis for segregation and independent assortment.

baculovirus

Baculoviruses are a class of insect virus which have been used to make DNA cloning vectors for gene expression in eukaryotic cells. Baculoviruses have a gene which is expressed at very high levels late in their infection cycle, filling the nucleus of the cell with many-sided bodies full of a protein which is not needed…

bacterium

(Gr. bakterion, a stick; pl: bacteria)  Common name for the class Schizomycetes: minute (0.5-5mm), unicellular organisms, without a distinct nucleus. Bacteria are prokaryotes, and most of them are identified by means of Gram staining (q.v.). They are classified on the basis of their oxygen requirement (aerobic vs…

gene bank

1. The physical location where collections of genetic material in the form of seeds, tissues or reproductive cells of plants or animals are stored. 2. Field gene bank: A facility established for the ex situ storage and maintenance, using horticultural techniques, of individual plants. Used for species whose seeds…

gametic (phase) equilibrium

In relation to any two loci, the occurrence of haplotypes (gametes) with a frequency equal to the product of the frequency of the two relevant alleles, e.g., loci A and B are in linkage equilibrium if the frequency of the haplotype (gamete) AiBi equals the product of the frequencies of alleles Ai and Bi. a.k.a. linkage…