Birgid Schlindwein's
Hypermedia Glossary Of Genetic Terms
Search Results
Birgid Schlindwein'sHypermedia Glossary Of Genetic TermsSearch Results |
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| Single primer amplification reaction (SPAR) | A PCR technique using core motifs of microsatellite DNA. |
| 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. |
| Motif | Three-dimensional structure of gene product (protein) with known or implied function. eg DNA binding membrane spanning. A motif is often inferred from a cDNA sequence. |
| Microsatellite | Highly polymorphic DNA marker comprised of mononucleotides, dinucleotides, trinucleotides or tetra-nucleotides that are repeated in tandem arrays and distributed throughout the genome. The best studied are the CA (alternatively GT) dinucleotide repeats. They are used for genetic mapping. Cf. minisatellite. |
| Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) | The molecule that encodes genetic information. DNA is a double-stranded molecule held together by weak bonds between base pairs of nucleotides. The four nucleotides in DNA contain the bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). In nature, base pairs form only between A and T and between G and C; thus the base sequence of each single strand can be deduced from that of its partner. |