Term | Definition |
Alleles | one of two or more alternative forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome. |
Heredity | The passing of genetic factors from parent to offspring (or from one generation to the next). |
Trait | a distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one belonging to a person.a genetically determined characteristic. |
Recessive | relating to or denoting heritable characteristics controlled by genes that are expressed in offspring only when inherited from both parents, i.e., when not masked by a dominant characteristic inherited from one parent. |
Dominant | most important, powerful, or influential. |
Phenotype | the set of observable characteristics of an individual resulting from the interaction of its genotype with the environment. |
Genotype | the genetic constitution of an individual organism. |
Homozygous | Heterozygous means having one each of two different alleles. |
Heterozygous | The genetics term heterozygous refers to a pair of genes where one is dominant and one is recessive — they're different. |
Mutation | A Mutation occurs when a DNA gene is damaged or changed in such a way as to alter the genetic message carried by that gene. |
replication | he process of duplicating or producing an exact copy of a polynucleotide strand such as DNA. |
nucleotide | a compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group. Nucleotides form the basic structural unit of nucleic acids such as DNA. |
Transcription | The process of transcribing or making a copy of genetic information stored in a DNA strand into a complementary strand of RNA (messenger RNA or mRNA) with the aid of RNA polymerases. |
translation | Translation is a step in protein biosynthesis wherein the genetic code carried by mRNA is decoded to produce the specific sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. |
Karyotyping | the determination of a karyotype, e.g., to detect chromosomal abnormalities. |
codon | a sequence of three nucleotides that together form a unit of genetic code in a DNA or RNA molecule. |
anticodon | a sequence of three nucleotides forming a unit of genetic code in a transfer RNA molecule, corresponding to a complementary codon in messenger RNA. |
Recombinant DNA | DNA that has been formed artificially by combining constituents from different organisms. |
Restriction enzyme | an enzyme produced chiefly by certain bacteria, having the property of cleaving DNA molecules at or near a specific sequence of bases. |
Genetic engineering | the deliberate modification of the characteristics of an organism by manipulating its genetic material. |