Birgid Schlindwein's
Hypermedia Glossary Of Genetic Terms
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Birgid Schlindwein'sHypermedia Glossary Of Genetic TermsSearch Results |
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| Sequence characterised amplified region (SCAR) | A locus representing a single RAPD fragment which has been sequenced. Primers specific to the locus can be designed and used in PCR amplification. |
| Locus | The position of a gene on a chromosome or other chromosome markers; also, the DNA at that position. The use of the term locus is sometimes restricted to main regions of DNA that are expressed. Plural: loci. See gene expression. |
| Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) | A widely used technique for amplifying anonymous streches of DNA using PCR with arbitrary primers. |
| Primer | Short preexisting single-stranded polynucleotide chain to which new deoxyribonucleotides can be added by DNA polymerase. It anneals to a nucleic acid template and promotes copying of the template starting from the primer site. |
| Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) | A method, developed by Kary Banks Mullis 1983, for amplifying a DNA base sequence using a heat-stable polymerase and two 20-base primers, one complementary to the (+)-strand at one end of the sequence to be amplified and the other complementary to the (-)-strand at the other end. Because the newly synthesized DNA strands can subsequently serve as additional templates for the same primer sequences, successive rounds of primer annealing, strand elongation, and dissociation produce rapid and highly specific amplification of the desired sequence. PCR also can be used to detect the existence of the defined sequence in a DNA sample (see DNA amplification fingerprinting. Several variations have been developed for specific needs. May be combined with reverse transcription of mRNA to cDNA to amplify an mRNA so called RT-PCR. |
| Amplification | An increase in the number of copies of a specific DNA fragment; can be in vivo (eg amplification of a repeat sequence as in fragile X syndrome) or in vitro (eg. cloning or polymerase chain reaction). |