Understanding Genetics
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- Offspring
- This term can mean child, or children, but also refers to the descendents of genetic crosses of both plants and animals.
- Mitosis
- The duplication and division of the nucleus and of the chromosomes before cell division.
- Favorable Mutation
- Wheras most genetic mutations cause living things to sicken or die, these mutations acually benefit organisms, improving their chances of survival.
- Deoxyribonucleic Acid
- Commonly called DNA, this huge molecule is a major component of chromosomes. DNA functions to store information for making proteins.
- Cystic Fibrosis
- A genetic disease that particularly affects the tissue of the lungs and pancreas.
- Species
- A group of organisms capable of interbreeding to produce fertile offspring.
- Amino Acids
- Chemical subunits that link-up with one another to form long molecular chains that are called proteins.
- Pollination
- The transfer of pollen from the male part of the flower to the pistil, the female part of the flower.
- Genotype
- The actual genetic makeup of an organism; the genes that an organism possesses.
- Stamen
- The male reproductive organ of a flower. It produces pollen.
- First Filial Generation
- The first generation of offspring resulting from a cross of two parent organisms, abbreviated the F1 generation.
- Sex Chromosomes
- Chromosomes that can be found in non-identical pairs and whose distribution in a fertilized egg determines the sex of the offspring.
- Meiosis
- Also known as REDUCTION DIVISION. This takes place when germ cells in the ovaries or testes undergo two cell divisions but the DNA is only replicated once. As a reult, diploid germ cells are converted into haploid sperm and eggs.
- Cross
- In genetics, this is a shortened way of saying cross-pollination, or cross-fertilization.
- Substitution Mutation
- A common type of genetic mutation that occurs when an incorrect genetic code letter is substituted for the correct letter in a gene.
- Diploid
- Possessing two complete sets of chromosomes.
- Phenotype
- The observable, physical traits of an organism.
- DNA
- An abbreviation for Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid.
- Proteins
- chemical substances found in living things made up of long chains of amino acids; most proteins function as enzymes but they can also serve structural and transport functions as well.
- Genetic Diseases
- Diseases such as Hemophilia, Downs Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis and Sickle Cell Anemia that result when genetic instructions in the DNA become confused as a result of genetic mutations.
- Fertilization
- The fusion of a male sex cell (sperm) and female sex cell (egg) to produce a fertilized egg.
- Punnett Square
- A diagrammatic representation of a genetic cross used to determine the characteristics of the offspring of the cross.
- Cross-Fertilization
- A technique used by geneticists in which male sex cells from an organism possessing one set of traits are used to fertilize the female sex cells of an organism of the same species that can possess a different set of traits.
- Genetic Code Language
- A language used by the cells of all living organisms. Each sentence of instruction is called a gene. Every word in the gene sentence is just 3 letters long and is almost always the name of an amino acid. The genetic code alphabet from which genetic code words are written uses just four letters - A, C, T, and G.
- Second Filial Generation
- The offspring that grow from the seeds resulting from a cross of First Filial Generation parent organisms, abbreviated the F2 generation.
- Dominant Gene
- A gene, such as the one for tallness in pea plants, that can overpower weaker recessive genes like the pea's gene for shortness.
- Mendel, Gregor
- A monk who performed the first scientific experiments in genetics. He is known as "The Father of Genetics."
- Cross-Pollination
- A technique used by geneticists in which pollen containing the male sex cells from the flowers of a plant possessing one set of traits is transferred to the pistils, containing the female sex organs, in the flowers of another plant of the same species that can possess a different set of traits.
- Reduction Division
- Another term for meiosis.
- Inheritance
- Heredity; traits that can be inherited. Genetics is the science of inheritance or heredity.
- Enzyme
- A class of protein that controls the rates of chemical reactions.
- Haploid
- Half of the Diploid number of chromosomes. As a result of MeiOSIS, diploid germ cells are converted into haploid sex cells.
- Germ Cell Line
- A unique class of cells that give rise to sperm and eggs that are found only in the ovaries of females and the testes of males. These cells are the only cells in the body that can undergo the process of MEOISIS or REDUCTION DIVISION that causes their diploid number of chromosomes to be reduced by half.
- True-Breeder
- In Genetics, an organism whose genotype for a particular trait is composed of purely dominant or purely recessive genes.
- Deletion Mutation
- A type of mutation that occurs when part of the DNA of a gene is deleted or lost.
- Sex Cells
- Special haploid cells that can fuse together to form a diploid fertilized egg and from which an embryo will develop. In humans these cells in males are called sperm. In females, they are called ova or eggs.
- Pollen
- Material produced by the stamens in the male part of a flower and that contains the male sex cells.
- Insertion Mutation
- A class of genetic mutations that occur when extra DNA is inserted into a gene.
- Recessive Gene
- A gene whose trait is masked by the presence of a dominant gene; it can be thought of as the weaker gene.
- Genetic Mutation
- A change in a gene or a chromosome that typically causes death or illness but can be favorable and can, in rare instances, result in new traits being passed on to offspring.
- Gene
- The basic unit of inheritance. A distinct section of a DNA molecule that contains the instructions for building a particular protein.
- Genetics
- The study of heredity.
- Chromosomes
- Wormlike cell structures that become visible before cells divide and that are the location of the genes that store genetic information for making proteins.
- Inheritance Factors
- The term used by Mendel to explain why the traits he studies in pease were inherited in pairs. Later, this term was renamed genes.
- Sickle-Cell Anemia
- A genetic disease that causes the red blood cells to become sickle or crescent shaped.
- Pistil
- The female reproductive organs of a flower consisting of the stigma, style, and ovary.