Final Vocab

Question 1

Alleles that cause an organism to die only when present in a homozygous condition

Answer 1

lethal allele

Question 2

the sex that possesses two similar sex chromosomes

Answer 2

heterogametic sex

Question 3

a circumstance where the expression of one gene is modified by expression of one or more other genes

Answer 3

epistasis

Question 4

a type of dominance characterized by a phenotype that is more pronounced in a heterozygote relative to a homozygote

Answer 4

overdominance

Question 5

a class of hypotheses that view organelles in eukaryotic cells as descendants of endosymbionts

Answer 5

endosymbiosis theory

Question 6

a microbial cell that has come to live stably inside another microbial cell (host)

Answer 6

endosymbiont

Question 7

sex determination system in which males develop from unfertilized eggs and are haploid and females from fertilized eggs and are diploid

Answer 7

haplodiploid

Question 8

a form of gene interaction in which both alleles of a gene at a locus are partially expressed, often resulting in an intermediate or different phenotype

Answer 8

incomplete dominance

Question 9

a densely staining inactivated condensed X chromosome that is present in each somatic cell of most female mammals and is used as a test of genetic femaleness

Answer 9

barr body

Question 10

the situation where the phenotype of the offspring is influenced by the environment experienced by the mother

Answer 10

maternal effect

Question 11

a cell containing two copies of each chromosome

Answer 11

diploid

Question 12

the closeness of genes or other DNA sequences to one another on the same chromosome

Answer 12

genetic linkage

Question 13

the movement of genetic information between organisms (e.x. antibiotic resistance)

Answer 13

horizontal gene transfer

Question 14

a unit for measuring genetic linkage

Answer 14

map unit

Question 15

the process by which one bacterium transfers genetic material to another through direct contact

Answer 15

conjugation

Question 16

the process by which DNA is transferred from one bacterium to another via a virus

Answer 16

transduction

Question 17

the genetic alteration of a cell resulting from the direct uptake and incorporation of exogenous genetic material from its surroundings through the cell membranes

Answer 17

transformation

Question 18

a small circular DNA molecule found in bacteria and some other microscopic organisms

Answer 18

plasmid

Question 19

when sperm cells fertilize both the egg and the polar body and the two zygotes may interact and swap cell combinations

Answer 19

bilateral gynandromorph

Question 20

artificially synthesized 19-23 nucleotide long double-stranded RNA molecules

Answer 20

short interfering RNA

Question 21

the process of turning genes on and off

Answer 21

gene regulation

Question 22

cis-acting DNA sequences that can increase the transcription of genes

Answer 22

enhancer

Question 23

short stretches of palindromic DNA with the sequence “CpG” that code for the same sequence in the complimentary strand

Answer 23

CpG island

Question 24

the fusion of two accrocentric chromosomes at the centromeres

Answer 24

robertsonian translocation

Question 25

a DNA molecule (often plasmid or virus) that is used as a vehicle to carry a particular DNA segment into a host cell as part of a cloning or recombinant DNA

Answer 25

vector

Question 26

any class of enzymes capable of binding to the end of a transposon and catalyzing its movement to another part of the genome

Answer 26

transposase

Question 27

denotes the heat-stable DNA polymerase used to automate the repetitive steps in the polymerase chain reaction technique

Answer 27

taq polymerase

Question 28

short stretches of DNA that target unique sequences and help identify a unique part of a genome

Answer 28

primer

Question 29

the process of isolating a DNA sequence of interest for the purpose of making multiple copies

Answer 29

gene cloning

Question 30

determining the order of the four chemical building blocks (bases) that make up the DNA molecule

Answer 30

DNA sequencing

Question 31

mobile DNA sequences that propogate within genomes

Answer 31

transposable element

Question 32

a difference in the size of DNA restriction fragments (restriction map) between individuals

Answer 32

RFLP map

Question 33

a single gene affecting mutliple traits

Answer 33

pleiotropy

Question 34

traits that are influenced by genes carried on the sex chromosomes

Answer 34

sex linked gene

Question 35

traits that tend to run in families because affected individuals have relatives who share genes with them

Answer 35

polygenic threshold

Question 36

a protein involved in the removal of introns from strings of messenger RNA so that exons can bind together

Answer 36

splicing factors

Question 37

segment of DNA to which a repressor binds

Answer 37

operator

Question 38

the use of biology to develop new products, methods, and organisms

Answer 38

biotechnology

Question 39

homologous recombination that involves the unidirectional transfer of genetic material from a 'donor' sequence to a highly homologous 'acceptor'

Answer 39

gene conversion

Question 40

a reproductive cell of the body

Answer 40

germ cell