Chapter 4 Flashcards
Oligonucleotide
Short, single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules that have a wide range of applications in genetic testing, research, and forensics.
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
A laboratory technique used to amplify DNA sequences, using short DNA sequences called primers to select the portion of the genome to be amplified. The temperature of the sample is repeatedly raised and lowered to help a DNA replication enzyme copy the target DNA sequence. The technique can produce a billion copies of the target sequence in just a few hours.
Hybridization
The process of combining two complementary single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules and allowing them to form a single double-stranded molecule through base pairing.
Electrophoresis
A method of separating large molecules (such as DNA fragments or proteins) from a mixture of similar molecules. An electric current is passed through a medium containing the mixture, and each kind of molecule travels through the medium at a different rate, depending on its electrical charge and size. Agarose and acrylamide gels are the media commonly used for electrophoresis of proteins and nucleic acids.
Dideoxynucleotides (ddNTPs)
Chain-terminating inhibitors of DNA polymerase, used in the Sanger method for DNA sequencing. They are known as 2’, 3’, and are abbreviated as ddNTPs.
TaqMan
Hydrolysis probes that are designed to increase the specificity of quantitative PCR. (Company brand)
Sanger Sequencing
A method of DNA sequencing based on the selective incorporation of chain-terminating dideoxynucleotides by DNA polymerase during in vitro DNA replication.
Pyrosequencing
A method of DNA sequencing based on the “sequencing by synthesis” principles. It differs from Sanger sequencing, in that it relies on hue detection of pyrophosphate release on nucleotide incorporation, rather than chain termination with dideoxynucleotides.
Pyrophosphate
In chemistry, it is the anion, the salts, and the esters of pyrophosphoric acid.
Fluorescence Polarization
Measurements that provide information on molecular orientation, mobility, and processes that modulate them, including receptor-ligand interactions, protein-DNA interactions, proteolysis, membrane fluidity, and muscle contraction.
Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (rtPCR)
One of many variants of PCR. This technique is commonly used in molecular biology to detect RNA expression through the creation of complementary DNA (cDNA).
Molecular Beacon
Oligonucleotide hybridization probes that can report the presence of specific nucleic acids in homogenous solution.
Meta-analysis
Methods that focus on contrasting and combining results from different studies, in the hope of identifying patterns among study results, sources of disagreement among those results, or other interesting relationships that may come to light in the context of multiple studies.
Systems Biology
An emerging approach applied to biomedical and biological scientific research. It is a biology-based interdisciplinary field of study that focuses on complex interactions within biological systems, using a holistic approach to biological and biomedical research.
Computational Biology
Involves the development and application of data-analytical and theoretical methods, mathematical modeling and computational simulation techniques to the study of biological, behavioral, and social systems.
