BIOTECHNOLOGY GLOSSARY

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Acclimatization

Adaptation of an organism to a new environment.

Action letter

An official FDA communication that informs an NDA or BLA sponsor of a decision by the agency. An approval letter allows commercial marketing of the product.

Active immunity

A type of acquired immunity whereby resistance to a disease is built up by either having the disease or receiving a vaccine to it.

Adjuvant

Insoluble material that increases the formation and persistence of antibodies when injected with an antigen.

Aerobic

Needing oxygen for growth.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens

A common soil bacterium used as a vector to create transgenic plants.

Allele

Any of several alternative forms of a gene.

Allogenic

Of the same species, but with a different genotype. Also allogeneic.

Alzheimer's disease

A disease characterized by, among other things, progressive loss of memory. The development of Alzheimer's disease is thought to be associated, in part, with possessing certain alleles of the gene that encodes apolipoprotein E.

Amino acids

Building blocks of proteins. There are 20 common amino acids: alanine, arginine, aspargine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine and valine. Two more amino acids have been discovered in microbes: selenocysteine and pyrrolysine.

Amplification

The process of increasing the number of copies of a particular gene or chromosomal sequence.

Anaerobic

Growing in the absence of oxygen.

Antibiotic

Chemical substance formed as a metabolic byproduct in bacteria or fungi and used to treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics can be produced naturally, using microorganisms, or synthetically.

Antibody

Protein produced by humans and higher animals in response to the presence of a specific antigen.

Anticodon

Triplet of nucleotide bases (codon) in transfer RNA that pairs with (is complementary to) a triplet in messenger RNA. For example, if the codon is UCG, the anticodon is AGC. See also Base; Base pair; Complementarity.

Antigen

A substance that, when introduced into the body, induces an immune response by a specific antibody.

Antigenic determinant

See Hapten.

Antihemophilic factors

A family of whole-blood proteins that initiate blood clotting. Some of these proteins, such as factor VIII, can be used to treat hemophilia. See also Factor VIII; Kidney plasminogen activator.

Antisense

A piece of DNA producing a mirror image ("antisense") messenger RNA that is opposite in sequence to one directing protein synthesis. Antisense technology is used to selectively turn off production of certain proteins.

Antiserum

Blood serum containing specific antibodies against an antigen. Antisera are used to confer passive immunity to many diseases.

Apolipoprotein E (Apo E)

Certain alleles of the gene that encodes the protein apolipoprotein E have been associated with the development of heart disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Assay

Technique for measuring a biological response.

Attenuated

Weakened; with reference to vaccines, made from pathogenic organisms that have been treated so as to render them avirulent.

Autoimmune disease

A disease in which the body produces antibodies against its own tissues.

Autoimmunity

A condition in which the body mounts an immune response against one of its own organs or tissues.

Autosome

Any chromosome other than a sex chromosome.

Avirulent

Unable to cause disease.

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