| Term | Definition |
|---|
| homologous pairs | Two "matching" chromosomes having the same genes in the same order. |
| DNA replication | A process by which DNA molecules are duplicated. |
| in vivo | Referring to an experiment conducted in a living organism or cell, literally meaning "In living" |
| helicase | An enzyme that functions to unwind and unzip complementary DNA strands during in vivo DNA replication |
| topoisomerase | An enzyme that acts to relieve tension in DNA strands as they unwind during in vivo DNA replication. |
| RNA primase | An enzyme that adds primers to template strands during in vivo DNA replication |
| Primer | A short piece of DNA or RNA that is 15 to 35 bases long. It is complementary to a section of template strand and acts as an attachment and starting point for the synthesis strand during DNA replication. |
| DNA polymerase | An enzyme that, during DNA replication, creates a new strand of DNA nucleotides complementary to a template strand. |
| RNase H | An enzyme that functions to degrade RNA primers, during in vivo replication, that are bound to DNA template strands. |
| in vitro synthesis | Any synthesis that is done wholly or partly outside of a living organism; literally meaning "In glass." |
| oligonucleotides | Small lengths or DNA produced by in vitro synthesis that are less than or equal to 20 nucleotides and are mostly single stranded. |
| probes | Fluorescently labeled DNA or RNA sequences (oligonucleotides) that are used for gene identification. |
| dithiothreitol | (DTT) A reducing agent that helps to stabilize the DNA polymerase in DNA synthesis, PCR and DNA sequencing reactions. |
| template | A strand of DNA from which a new complementary strand is synthesized. |
| aneal | to bond |
| dNTP | The abbreviation for nucleotide triphosphates, which are the reactants (dATP, dCTP, dGTP, and dTTP) used as the sources of A, C, G, and Ts for a new strand of DNA. |
| dATP | The abbreviation for deoxyadenosine triphosphate, the cell's source of adenine for DNA molecules. |
| dCTP | The abbreviation for deoxycytidine triphosphate, the cell's source of cytosine for the DNA molecules |
| dGTP | The abbreviation for doxyguanosine triphosphate, the cell's source of guanine for DNA molecules. |
| dTTP | The abbreviation for deoxythymidine triphosphate, the cell's source of thymine for DNA molecules. |
| reaction buffer | A buffer in PCR that is used to maintain the pH of the synthesis reaction. |
| amplification | An increase in the number of copies of a particular segment of DNA, usually as a result of PCR |
| Hybridization | When two pieces of DNA bind together. |
| cross-linker | An instrument that uses UV light to irreversibly bind DNA or RNA to a membrane or paper. |
| Southern Blot | A transfer of DNA to a membrane or paper for visualization. |
| Northern Blot | A transfer of RNA to a membrane or paper for visualization |
| Western Blot | A transfer of proteins onto a membrane or paper for visualization. |
| Microarray | Assemblies of large numbers of samples of DNA or even RNA or protiens. IT is used to be able to search through a large amount of genetic information, even an entire genome, to understand gene expression. It allows the probing, screening, and evaluation of many samples, up to a million, at one time. |
| microarray scanner | An instrument that assesses the amount of fluorescence in a feature of a microarray |
| primer design | A process by which a primer sequence is proposed and constructed. |
| primer annealing | A phase in PCR during which a primer binds to a template strand. |
| Denaturing | A phase in PCR where the strands of DNA separate. |
| extension | A phase in PCR during which a complementary strand is synthesized. |
| optimization | process of analyzing all the variables to find the ideal conditions for a reaction or process |
| karyotyping | A process of comparing an individual's karyotype with a normal, standard one to check for abnormalities. |
| VNTRs | Abbreviation for variable number of tandem repeats, sections of repeated DNA sequences found at specific locations on certain chromosomes, the number of repeats in a particular VNTR can vary from person to person; used or DNA fingerprinting. |
| forensics | an application of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and sociology to sole legal problems including crime scene analysis, accident analysis, child support cases, and paternity. |
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