Biotechnology Terms
Biotechnology puts living cells and their molecules to work, from brewing to gene therapy. These terms cover the core lab methods, such as PCR, cloning, gel electrophoresis and CRISPR, and the engineered organisms and products they make possible.
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- Bacterial transformationMicrobiologyBacterial transformation is the uptake of free DNA from the surroundings by a bacterial cell, which can then gain the genes that DNA carries.
- BioBrickSynthetic BiologyA BioBrick is a standardized piece of DNA, such as a promoter or gene, flanked by fixed sequences so it can be joined to other parts in a repeatable way.
- BioreactorBiotechnologyA bioreactor is a vessel that keeps living cells or enzymes under controlled conditions so they can grow and make a product, such as a drug or vaccine.
- BioremediationBiotechnologyBioremediation is the use of living organisms, mostly microbes and sometimes plants, to break down or remove pollutants from soil, water or air.
- BiotechnologyBiotechnologyBiotechnology is the use of living organisms, cells or their molecules to make products or carry out processes that are useful to people.
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- Complementary DNAMolecular BiologyComplementary DNA is DNA built from an RNA template, usually messenger RNA, by the enzyme reverse transcriptase, giving a DNA copy of an expressed gene.
- CRISPRBiotechnologyCRISPR is a genome-editing technology, adapted from a bacterial defense system, that uses a guide RNA to direct an enzyme such as Cas9 to cut DNA.
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- DNA ligaseMolecular BiologyDNA ligase is an enzyme that links two pieces of DNA end to end, making a phosphodiester bond that seals a break in the sugar-phosphate backbone.
- DNA polymeraseMolecular BiologyDNA polymerase is an enzyme that builds new DNA by adding nucleotides one at a time to a growing strand, using an existing strand as a template.
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- Gel electrophoresisMolecular BiologyGel electrophoresis is a lab technique that uses an electric field to pull DNA, RNA or proteins through a gel, separating them by size.
- Gene therapyBiotechnologyGene therapy is a treatment that changes the genes inside a patient's cells, by adding, replacing, silencing or editing DNA, to treat or prevent disease.
- Genetic engineeringBiotechnologyGenetic engineering is the direct change of an organism's DNA using laboratory techniques, to add, remove or alter genes and give it new traits.
- Genetically modified organismBiotechnologyA genetically modified organism is a plant, animal or microbe whose DNA has been changed by genetic engineering in a way mating could not achieve.
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- Mass spectrometryProteomicsMass spectrometry is an analytical technique that turns molecules into charged ions and sorts them by mass-to-charge ratio to identify and measure them.
- Metabolic engineeringSynthetic BiologyMetabolic engineering is the redesign of a cell's metabolic pathways with genetic tools so that it makes more of a useful product, or makes a new one.
- Molecular cloningBiotechnologyMolecular cloning is a set of laboratory methods for inserting a specific DNA fragment into a vector and copying it many times inside host cells.
- Monoclonal antibodyBiotechnologyA monoclonal antibody is one of a set of identical antibodies made by clones of a single B cell, so that all of them bind the same site on one antigen.
- mRNA vaccineVirologyAn mRNA vaccine delivers messenger RNA coding for a pathogen's protein, so the body's own cells make that antigen and train the immune system.
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- PlasmidMolecular BiologyA plasmid is a small, usually circular DNA molecule that copies itself independently of the main chromosome, found mostly in bacteria.
- Polymerase chain reactionMolecular BiologyThe polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a lab technique that copies one chosen stretch of DNA over and over until there are billions of copies.
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- Recombinant DNABiotechnologyRecombinant DNA is DNA made in the laboratory by joining pieces of DNA from different sources, often different species, into one molecule.
- Restriction enzymeMolecular BiologyA restriction enzyme is a bacterial protein that cuts DNA at a specific short sequence, making it a basic tool for cutting and joining DNA.
- Reverse transcriptaseVirologyReverse transcriptase is an enzyme that builds DNA from an RNA template, letting retroviruses such as HIV turn their RNA genome into DNA.
- RNA interferenceMolecular BiologyRNA interference is a natural process in which small RNA molecules guide the destruction or blocking of matching messenger RNAs, silencing specific genes.
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- Sanger sequencingGenomicsSanger sequencing is a method for reading the order of bases in DNA that uses chain-terminating nucleotides, developed by Frederick Sanger in the 1970s.
- Synthetic biologySynthetic BiologySynthetic biology applies engineering design to living systems, building new genetic parts, circuits and genomes so that organisms can do useful jobs.
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