Chapter 07.2: What Mutations Tel Us About Gene Structure

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complement

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(used as a verb) when a heterozygote for two recessive mutations displays a normal phenotype because the dominant wild-type alleles on each of the two homologs make up for a defect in the other homologous chromosome. Mutations that complement are usually in the same gene

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complementation group

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a collection of mutations that do not complement each other. Often used synonymously for gene.

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complementation testing

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method of discovering whether two mutations are in the same or separate genes

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complementation table

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a method of collating data that helps visualize the relationship among a large group of mutants

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lawn

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bacteria immobilized in a nutrient agar, used as a field on which to test for the presence of viral particles

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plaque

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a clear area on a bacterial lawn, devoid of living bacterial cells, containing the genetically identical descendants of a single bacteriophage

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fine structure mapping

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recombination mapping of mutations in the same gene; in some bacteriophage experiments, fine structure mapping can resolve mutations in adjacent nucleotide pairs

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cistron

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a term sometimes used as a synonym for complementation group or gene

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point mutation

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a mutation of one base pair

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hot spots

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site within a gene that mutate more frequently than others, either spontaneously or after treatment with a particular mutagen