Molecular Biology Chapter 21 David Clark

Front 1

centrifugation

Back 1

Process in which samples are spun at high speed and the centrifugal force causes the larger or heavier components to sediment to the bottom

Front 2

detergent

Back 2

Molecule that is hydrophobic at one end and highly hydrophilic at the other and which is used to dissolve lipids or grease

Front 3

EDTA (ethylene diamine teraacetate)

Back 3

A widely used chelating agent that binds di-positive ions such as CA2+ and MG2+

Front 4

lysozyme

Back 4

An enzyme found in bodily fluids that degrades the peptidoglycan of bacterial cell walls

Front 5

peptidoglycan

Back 5

Mixed polymer o carbohydrate and amino acids that comprises the structural layer of bacterial cell walls

Front 6

phenol extraction

Back 6

Technique for removing protein from nucleic acids by dissolving the protein in phenol

Front 7

ribonuclease

Back 7

An enzyme that degrades RNA

Front 8

agarose

Back 8

A polysaccharide from seaweed that is used to form gels for separating nucleic acids electrophoresis

Front 9

agarose gel electrophoresis

Back 9

Technique for separation of nucleic acid molecules by passing an electric current through a gel made of agarose

Front 10

electrophoresis

Back 10

Movement of charged molecules due to an electric field. Used to separate and purify nucleic acids and proteins.

Front 11

gel electrophoresis

Back 11

Electrophoresis of charged molecules through a gel meshwork in order to sort them by size

Front 12

polyacrylamide

Back 12

Polymer used in separation of proteins or very small nucleic acid molecules by gel electrophoresis

Front 13

ethidium bromide

Back 13

A stain that specifically binds to DNA or RNA and appears orange if viewed under ultraviolet light

Front 14

kilobase ladder

Back 14

A set of DNA fragments that are exact multiples of 1000 bp and are often used as standards in gel electrophoresis

Front 15

denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)

Back 15

Combinaation of gel electrophoresis with DNA denaturation that allows separation of DNA molecules differing in sequence by only a single base.

Front 16

controlled pore glass (CPG)

Back 16

Glass with pores of uniform sizes that is used as a solid support for chemical reactions such as artificial DNA synthesis

Front 17

dimethoxytrityl (DMT) group

Back 17

Group used for blocking the 5'-hydroxyl of nucleotides during artificial DNA synthesis.

Front 18

phosphoramidite method

Back 18

Method for artificial synthesis of DNA that utilizes the reactive phosphoramidite group to make linkages between nucleotides.

Front 19

peptide nucleic acid (PNA)

Back 19

Artificial analog of nucleic acids with a polypeptide backbone.

Front 20

PNA clamp

Back 20

Two identical PNA strands that are joined by a flexible linker and are intended to form a triple helix with a complementary strand

Front 21

autoradiography

Back 21

Allowing radioactive materials to take pictures of themselves by laying them flat on photographic film

Front 22

"cold"

Back 22

Slang for non-radioactive

Front 23

"hot"

Back 23

Slang for radioactive

Front 24

phosphorothioate

Back 24

A phosphate group in which one of the four oxygen atoms around the central phosphorus is replaced by sulfur

Front 25

radioisotope

Back 25

Radioactive form of an element

Front 26

scintillant

Back 26

Molecule that emits pulses of light when hit by a particle of radioactivity

Front 27

scintillation counting

Back 27

Detection and counting of individual microscopic pulses of light

Front 28

scintillation counter

Back 28

Machine that detects and counts pulses of light

Front 29

florescence

Back 29

Process in which a molecule absorbs light of one wavelength and then emits light of another, longer, lower energy wavelength

Front 30

florescence activated cell sorter (FACS)

Back 30

Instrument that sorts cells (or chromosomes) based on fluorescent labeling

Front 31

avidin

Back 31

A protein from an egg white that binds biotin very tightly

Front 32

biotin

Back 32

One of the B family of vitamins that is also widely used for chemical labeling of DNA molecules

Front 33

digoxigenin

Back 33

A steroid from foxglove plant that widely used for chemical labeling of DNA molecules

Front 34

alkaline phosphatase

Back 34

An enzyme that cleaves phosphate groups from a wide range of molecules

Front 35

chemiluminescence

Back 35

Production of light by a chemical reaction

Front 36

chromogenic substrate

Back 36

Substrate that yields a colored product when processed by an enzyme

Front 37

lumi-phos

Back 37

Substrate for alkaline phosphatase that releases light upon cleavage

Front 38

X-phos

Back 38

Substrate for alkaline phosphatase that is cleaved to release a blue dye

Front 39

R-loop analysis

Back 39

Hybridization of the DNA copy of a gene to the corresponding mRNA that results in the appearance of loops, which represent the interleaving sequences in the DNA that have no partners in the mRNA

Front 40

denaturation

Back 40

When describing proteins of other biological polymers, refers to the loss of correct 3-D structure

Front 41

melting

Back 41

When used to describe DNA, refers to its separation into two strands as a result of heating

Front 42

melting temperature

Back 42

The temperature at which the two strands of a DNA molecule are half-way unpaired

Front 43

annealing

Back 43

The rejoining of separated single strands of DNA to form a double helix

Front 44

hybrid DNA

Back 44

Artificial double-stranded DNA molecules made by two single strands from two different sources.

Front 45

hybridization

Back 45

Formation of double-stranded DNA molecule by annealing of two single strands from two different sources

Front 46

probe

Back 46

Short for probe molecule

Front 47

probe molecule

Back 47

Molecule that is tagged in some way (usually radioactive or fluorescent) and is used to bind to and detect another molecule

Front 48

Northern blotting

Back 48

Hybridization technique in which a DNA probe binds to an RNA target molecule

Front 49

Southern blotting

Back 49

A method to detect single stranded DNA that has been transferred to nylon paper by using a probe that binds DNA

Front 50

Western blotting

Back 50

Detection technique in which a probe, usually an antibody, binds to a protein target molecule

Front 51

Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH)

Back 51

Using a florescent probe to visualize a molecule of DNA or RNA in its natural location

Front 52

South-Western blotting

Back 52

Detection technique in which a DNA probe binds to a protein target molecule

Front 53

Zoo blotting

Back 53

Comparative Southern blotting using DNA target molecules from several different animals to test whether the probe DNA is from a coding region

Front 54

fluorophore

Back 54

A fluorescent chemical group

Front 55

molecular beacon

Back 55

A florescent probe molecule that contains both a fluorophore and a quenching group and that fluoresces only when it binds to a specific DNA target sequence