Related Words

Alleles: Alternate forms of a gene.

Fingerprinting: In genetics, the identification of multiple specific alleles on a person's dna to produce a unique identifier for that person.

Gene Product: The biochemical material, either rna or protein, resulting from expression of a gene. The amount of gene product is used to measure how active a gene is: abnormal amounts can be correlated w . . . View Full Definition

Dominant: Refers to an allele of a gene that is always expressed in heterozygotes.

Disease-Associated Genes: Alleles carrying particular dna sequences associated with the presence of disease.

Crossing Over: The breaking during meiosis of one maternal and one paternal chromosome, the exchange of corresponding sections of dna, and the rejoining of the chromosomes. This process can result in an ex . . . View Full Definition

Genetic Illness: Sickness, physical disability, or other disorder resulting from the inheritance of one or more deleterious alleles.

Heterozygosity: The presence of different alleles at one or more loci on homologous chromosomes.

Variable Number Tandem Repeats (VNTR): Any gene whose alleles contain different numbers of tandemly repeated oligonucleotide sequences.

Polygenic Disorders: Genetic disorders resulting from the combined action of alleles of more than one gene (e.g., heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers). Although such disorders are inherited, they depend on . . . View Full Definition