DNA Related Biological Terms

A hybrid molecule produced by combining DNA from two different species into a single polynucleotide.

(= complementary DNA)

(see double adaptor method)

see chip (oligonucleotide array)

A single-stranded DNA that can hydrolyse a complementary RNA sequence. Such activity has been observed only in some synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides.

A method to generate a pattern of DNA restriction fragments that is unique to an individual, especially for forensic purposes. DNA from blood, semen or another tissue sample is isolated and cleaved with a restriction endonuclease; the products are separated by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, blotted on to a nylon sheet, and fragments that contain a specific nucleotide sequence are detected by hybridization with an appropriate DNA probe to produce the unique pattern. (see also variable number tandem repeat (VNTR)) Recommended reading: next generation sequencing

An enzyme that uses the energy of ATP hydrolysis to unwind double-stranded circular DNA to form a negatively supercoiled molecule.

A phenomenon that represses expression of regions of the genome. Transcription is prevented when the DNA is methylated and folded into nucleosomes. Eukaryotic DNA is methylated almost exclusively as 5-methyl cytosine; prokaryotic DNA is methylated also as 6-methyl adenosine. (see also imprinting)Kass, S.U., Landsberger, N. and Wolffe, A.P. (1997) Curr. Biol. 7, 157-165 Recommended reading: next generation sequencing

A synthetic polynucleotide with high affinity for a regulatory protein, such as a transciption factor, that can be used for research purposes, and potentially for therapy, to compete with the natural DNA sequence and attenuate the effects of the regulatory protein.Morishita, R., Higaki, J., Tomita, N. and Ogihara, T. (1998) Circ. Res. 82, 1023-1028

(= DNA fingerprinting (DNA profiling))