at Related Biological Terms

A genomic DNA sequence that is not translated into an RNA sequence.

The process of assembling the DNA sequences that encode an immunoglobulin or a T-cell receptor (TCR), the cell-surface protein that recognizes an antigen. The process excises polynucleotide sequences between V (variable), D (diversity) and J (joining) sequences, with the assembly of a coding sequence that will encode a complete potential immunoglobulin or TCR. The mechanism involves excision at recombination signal sequences (RSSs) that are characterized at each end of the to-be-excised sequence by 23 and 12 bp sequences (the 12/23 rule) that will be fused together in the signal joint as the excised sequence is cyclized. The ends of the coding sequences, which were sealed as hairpin turns during the first phase of the splicing, are reopened, an overhang is filled in with the insertion of so-called P nucleotides, and ligated to form a coding joint.(see double-strand-break repair model)Bogue, M. and Roth, D.B. (1996) Curr. Opin. Immunol. 8, 175-180; Lewis, G.S.M. and Wu, G.E. (1997) Cell 88, 159-162; Oettinger, M.A. (1999) Curr. Opin Cell Biol. 11, 325-329; Landree, M.A., Wibbenmeyer, J.A. and Roth, D.B. (1999) Genes Dev. 13, 3059-3069

A minisatellite DNA; the repetition of a 35-80bp sequence, to a size of up to 2kbp, that is characteristic of an individual. VNTRs are used in forensic science to identify, or exclude, suspects of a crime. (see also DNA fingerprinting (DNA profiling))

The increase in diameter of small blood vessels, especially in the kidney, that lowers blood pressure. (see also vasoconstriction)

(see medium-chain fatty acid)

(see vibrational optical activity (VOA))

A spectroscopic technique for examination of chiral structure, especially of biopolymers, in which the vibrational spectra (infrared and visible), due to bond stretching and bending [as opposed to electronic spectra (ultraviolet), due to electron excitation], of chiral centres are isolated from the background spectra. Raman optical activity (ROA) observes the difference in intensities of right- and left-circularly polarized light, and is conventionally displayed as a plot of the difference in intensities, IR-IL (arbitrary units), against wavenumber (cm-1). vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) is essentially CD in the infrared spectrum. Analysis of data is by ab initio calculation for small molecules, or by empirical correlation with VOA of known structures for larger molecules. (see also light scattering)Freemantle, M. (1995) Chem. Eng. News 73 (3), 27-34; Carey, P.R. and Tonge, P.J. (1995) Acc. Chem. Res. 28, 8-13

(see manometry)

(= pentose phosphate pathway)

(see Crick strand)