Flashcards: Molecular biology

DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting, DNA testing, or DNA typing) is a forensic technique used to identify individuals by characteristics of their DNA.

DNA footprinting is a method of investigating the sequence specificity of DNA-binding proteins in vitro.

rRNA 2'-O-methyltransferase fibrillarin is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the FBL gene.

Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation.

Gel electrophoresis is a method for separation and analysis of macromolecules (DNA, RNA and proteins) and their fragments, based on their size and charge.

Gene therapy is the therapeutic delivery of nucleic acid polymers into a patient's cells as a drug to treat disease.

The genetic code is the set of rules by which information encoded within genetic material (DNA or mRNA sequences) is translated into proteins by living cells.

Nucleotides are organic molecules that serve as the monomers, or subunits, of nucleic acids like DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid).

A plasmid is a small DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from a chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently.

Proteins (/ˈproʊˌtiːnz/ or /ˈproʊti.ᵻnz/) are large biomolecules, or macromolecules, consisting of one or more long chains of amino acid residues.

A reverse transcriptase (RT) is an enzyme used to generate complementary DNA (cDNA) from an RNA template, a process termed reverse transcription.

Transcription is the first step of gene expression, in which a particular segment of DNA is copied into RNA (mRNA) by the enzyme RNA polymerase.

In molecular biology, transformation is the genetic alteration of a cell resulting from the direct uptake and incorporation of exogenous genetic material from its surroundings through the cell membrane(s).

G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) which are also known as seven-transmembrane domain receptors, 7TM receptors, heptahelical receptors, serpentine receptor, and G protein–linked receptors (GPLR), constitute a large protein family of receptors, that sense molecules outside the cell and activate inside signal transduction pathways and, ultimately, cellular responses.

Long interspersed elements (LINEs) are a group of non-LTR (long terminal repeat) retrotransposons which are widespread in the genome of many eukaryotes.

Plant breeding is the art and science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics.

The history of molecular biology begins in the 1930s with the convergence of various, previously distinct biological and physical disciplines: biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, virology and physics.

A restriction enzyme or restriction endonuclease is an enzyme that cuts DNA at or near specific recognition nucleotide sequences known as restriction sites.

Small interfering RNA (siRNA), sometimes known as short interfering RNA or silencing RNA, is a class of double-stranded RNA molecules, 20-25 base pairs in length.

Biopolymers are polymers produced by living organisms; in other words, they are polymeric biomolecules.

RNA-Seq (RNA sequencing), also called whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing (WTSS), uses next-generation sequencing (NGS) to reveal the presence and quantity of RNA in a biological sample at a given moment in time.

ZMapp is an experimental biopharmaceutical drug comprising three chimeric monoclonal antibodies under development as a treatment for Ebola virus disease.

Isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) is a molecular biology reagent.

Transposase is an enzyme that binds to the end of a transposon and catalyzes the movement of the transposon to another part of the genome by a cut and paste mechanism or a replicative transposition mechanism.

Ombitasvir is an antiviral drug for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Paritaprevir (previously known as ABT-450) is an acylsulfonamide inhibitor of the NS3-4A serine protease manufactured by Abbott Laboratories that shows promising results as a treatment of hepatitis C.

Photo-degradation is the alteration of materials by light.

Micrococcal Nuclease (EC 3.1.31.1, S7 Nuclease, MNase, spleen endonuclease, thermonuclease, nuclease T, micrococcal endonuclease, nuclease T', staphylococcal nuclease, spleen phosphodiesterase, Staphylococcus aureus nuclease, Staphylococcus aureus nuclease B, ribonucleate (deoxynucleate) 3'-nucleotidohydrolase) is an endo-exonuclease that preferentially digests single-stranded nucleic acids.

ChIP-on-chip (also known as ChIP-chip) is a technology that combines chromatin immunoprecipitation ('ChIP') with DNA microarray ("chip").

A myokine is one of several hundred cytokines or other small proteins (~5–20 kDa) and proteoglycan peptides that are produced and released by muscle cells (myocytes) in response to muscular contractions.

In molecular biology, the FAD dependent oxidoreductase family of proteins is a family of FAD dependent oxidoreductases.

PDE3 is a phosphodiesterase.

In molecular biology and genetics, upstream and downstream both refer to a relative position in DNA or RNA.

Cell–cell fusogens are glycoproteins that facilitate the fusion of cell to cell membranes.

A mitotoxin is a cytotoxic molecule targeted to specific cells by a mitogen.

Propidium monoazide (PMA) is a photoreactive DNA-binding dye that preferentially binds to dsDNA.

In cell biology, molecular biology and related fields, the word intracellular means "inside the cell".

EcoRI (pronounced, "eco R one") is a restriction endonuclease enzyme isolated from species E.

Processing bodies (P-bodies) are distinct foci within the cytoplasm of the eukaryotic cell consisting of many enzymes involved in mRNA turnover.

BamH I (from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) is a type II restriction endonuclease, having the capacity for recognizing short sequences (6 b.p.) of DNA and specifically cleaving them at a target site.

Post-transcriptional regulation is the control of gene expression at the RNA level, therefore between the transcription and the translation of the gene.

Viral transformation can occur both naturally and medically.

DNA repair protein XRCC4 also known as X-ray repair cross-complementing protein 4 or XRCC4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the XRCC4 gene.

In molecular biology, DNA ligase is a specific type of enzyme, a ligase, (EC 6.5.1.1) that facilitates the joining of DNA strands together by catalyzing the formation of a phosphodiester bond.

Deoxycytidine triphosphate (dCTP) is a nucleoside triphosphate that contains the pyrimidine base cytosine.

EcoRV (pronounced "eco R five") is a type II restriction endonuclease isolated from certain strains of Escherichia coli.

RecBCD (EC 3.1.11.5, Exonuclease V, Escherichia coli exonuclease V, E. coli exonuclease V, gene recBC endoenzyme, RecBC deoxyribonuclease, gene recBC DNase, gene recBCD enzymes) is an enzyme of the E.

Orosomucoid (ORM) or alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (α1AGp, AGP or AAG) is an acute phase (acute phase protein) plasma alpha-globulin glycoprotein and is modulated by two polymorphic genes.

Cre recombinase is a tyrosine recombinase enzyme derived from the P1 Bacteriophage.

Methylated DNA immunoprecipitation (MeDIP or mDIP) is a large-scale (chromosome- or genome-wide) purification technique in molecular biology that is used to enrich for methylated DNA sequences.

C5a is a protein fragment released from cleavage of complement component C5 by protease C5-convertase into C5a and C5b fragments.

In molecular biology and bioinformatics, SNP array is a type of DNA microarray which is used to detect polymorphisms within a population.

HindIII (pronounced "Hin D Three") is a type II site-specific deoxyribonuclease restriction enzyme isolated from Haemophilus influenzae that cleaves the DNA palindromic sequence AAGCTT in the presence of the cofactor Mg2+ via hydrolysis.

The homing endonucleases are a collection of endonucleases encoded either as freestanding genes within introns, as fusions with host proteins, or as self-splicing inteins.

Ribonuclease H (RNase H) is a family of non-sequence-specific endonucleases that catalyze the cleavage of RNA via a hydrolytic mechanism.

snRNPs (pronounced "snurps"), or small nuclear ribonucleo proteins, are RNA-protein complexes that combine with unmodified pre-mRNA and various other proteins to form a spliceosome, a large RNA-protein molecular complex upon which splicing of pre-mRNA occurs.

Fluorescence is used in the life sciences generally as a non-destructive way of tracking or analysing biological molecules by means of fluorescence.

BglII (pronounced "begel two") is a type II restriction endonuclease enzyme isolated from certain strains of Bacillus globigii.

Restriction endonuclease (REase) EcoRII (pronounced "eco R two") is an enzyme of restriction modification system (RM) naturally found in Escherichia coli, a Gram-negative bacteria.

In molecular biology, the BSD domain is an approximately 60-amino-acid-long protein domain named after the BTF2-like transcription factors, synapse-associated proteins and DOS2-like proteins in which it is found.

In molecular biology, BpuJI is a type II restriction endonuclease which recognises the asymmetric sequence 5'-CCCGT and cuts at multiple sites in the surrounding area of the target sequence.

In molecular biology, the Btk-type zinc finger or Btk motif (BM) is a conserved zinc-binding motif containing conserved cysteines and a histidine that is present in certain eukaryotic signalling proteins.

In molecular biology, the Cfr10I/Bse634I family of restriction endonucleases includes the type II restriction endonucleases Cfr10I and Bse634I.

In molecular biology, the ankyrin-G binding motif of KCNQ2-3 is a protein motif found in the potassium channels KCNQ2 and KCNQ3.