Glossary Term
A DNA sequencing technique in which a mixture of deoxynucleosidetriphosphates (dNTPs) and chain-terminating dNTPs, which are radioactively or fluorescently labeled, are combined within the reaction mixture. Once the reaction is complete, the DNA strands are separated by size, and the labeled chain terminating dNTPs can be read in sequence by the investigator or by a machine.
Pcr Terms
Glossary Term
A long linear double-stranded polymer formed from nucleotides attached to a deoxyribose backbone and found in the nucleus of a cell; associated with the transmission of genetic information.
Pcr Terms
Glossary Term
Drug-, radiation-induced, or spontaneous injuries to DNA that introduce deviations from its normal double-helical conformation. These changes include structural distortions that interfere with replication and transcription, as well as point mutations that disrupt base pairs and exert damaging effects on future generations through changes in DNA sequence. If the damage is minor, it can often be repaired (DNA repair); extensive damage can induce apoptosis.
Pcr Terms
Glossary Term
Any method that extracts and purifies DNA from biological samples, which can include the proper handling of biological samples prior to nucleic acid isolation, the separation of DNA from the rest of the components in the samples, and the storage of the DNA isolates.
Extraction Methodology
Glossary Term
Enzymatic restoration of DNA structure after chemical, radiation, or spontaneous damage.
Pcr Terms
Glossary Term
A 50-150bp DNA sequence that increases the rate of transcription of coding sequences. It may be located at various distances and in either orientation upstream from, downstream from or within a structural gene. When bound by a specific transcription factor it increases the levels of expression of the gene, but is not sufficient alone to cause expression. Distinguished from a promoter, that is alone sufficient to cause expression of the gene when bound.
Pcr Terms
Glossary Term
Any DNA sequence rearrangement that results in the gain of one or more copies of a DNA segment that contains at least one gene.
Pcr Terms
Glossary Term
A deletion that results in the loss of a DNA segment encompassing an entire gene sequence.
Pcr Terms
Glossary Term
The complete genomic content of an organism, and possibly the full DNA sequence of that organism. It is contained in a set of chromosomes in eukaryotes, a single chromosome in bacteria, or a DNA or RNA molecule in viruses.
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Glossary Term
The determination of the DNA sequence of an individual.
Pcr Terms
Glossary Term
Major protein component of chromatin. Highly conserved basic proteins, originally classified into classes based on the relative amounts of arginine and lysine in each protein. The various classes are now termed H1, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4. In chromatin, they are found in an octamer, containing two each of H2A, H2B, H3, and H4, complexed with DNA in nucleosomes. The histones in the octamer complex are also known as the core histones. The H1 class of histones, termed the linker histones, is loosely associated with the nucleosome.
Pcr Terms
Glossary Term
The process of exchange of genetic material between autonomous replicons, which depends on regions of extensive sequence homology between the participating DNA strands. This process involves double-strand breakage of one participant, resection of the break, and strand invasion, followed by formation, displacement and resolution of the Holliday junction. This process is involved in repairing broken DNA and creating combinations of genes that may be unique from the parent duplexes. Disruptions in this process can result in inviability, premature aging and predisposition to cancers and degenerative diseases.
Pcr Terms