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Glossary
Microsatellite Small DNA stretches of a repeated core sequence of few base pairs
(e.g. GT repeat units) that are highly polymorphic, particularly in terms of the
number of repeated units. These are mainly used to create genetic maps.
MIMS Minimum Information about a Metagenome Sequence.
Mismatch position with different bases or amino acids in a sequence alignment.
Morpholino Synthetic molecules of usually 25 bases in length that bind to complementary sequences of RNA, blocking the access of cell components to those
sequences. Morpholinos can block translation, splicing, miRNAs or their targets
and ribozyme activity.
MPSS Massive Parallel Signature Sequencing; Tool to analyse the level of expression of virtually all genes in a sample by counting the number of individual mRNA
molecules produced from each gene.
Northern blot A method for analysing RNA molecules involving separation on
an agarose gel and detection of specific RNAs using radioactive or fluorescently
labelled probes (also called an RNA gel blot).
Ontology In the context of computer and information sciences, an ontology defines
a set of representational primitives with which to model a domain of knowledge
or discourse. The Gene Ontology for example provides a controlled vocabulary to
describe gene and gene product attributes in any organism.
ORF Open Reading Frame, a series of codons beginning with a start codon and
ending with a stop codon, without any internal stop codons.
Organelle A differentiated structure within a cell, such as a chloroplast, mitochondrion or vacuole, which performs a specific function.
Orthologue Orthologous sequences are homologous sequences that have been separated by a speciation event. A gene that exists in a particular species that then
diverges into two separate species, will be present in two copies afterwards. These
copies are called orthologues and will typically have the same or a similar function.
PAMP Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns; Small molecular motifs conserved within a class of microbes; LPS (see above) is considered to be the
prototypical PAMP.
Pangenome Unique set of proteins for a given species. In bacteria, the pangenome
can be twice the size of the genomes of individual members of a species.
Paralogue Homologous sequences that have been separated by a gene duplication
event in an ancestral genome are called paralogous. Paralogous genes may mutate
and acquire new functions because the original selective pressure is reduced.
PCR Polymerase chain reaction. A technique for replicating a specific piece of
DNA in-vitro. Oligonucleotide primers are added (which initiate the copying of each
strand) along with nucleotides and Taq polymerase. By cycling the temperature, the
Glossary
Microsatellite Small DNA stretches of a repeated core sequence of few base pairs
(e.g. GT repeat units) that are highly polymorphic, particularly in terms of the
number of repeated units. These are mainly used to create genetic maps.
MIMS Minimum Information about a Metagenome Sequence.
Mismatch position with different bases or amino acids in a sequence alignment.
Morpholino Synthetic molecules of usually 25 bases in length that bind to complementary sequences of RNA, blocking the access of cell components to those
sequences. Morpholinos can block translation, splicing, miRNAs or their targets
and ribozyme activity.
MPSS Massive Parallel Signature Sequencing; Tool to analyse the level of expression of virtually all genes in a sample by counting the number of individual mRNA
molecules produced from each gene.
Northern blot A method for analysing RNA molecules involving separation on
an agarose gel and detection of specific RNAs using radioactive or fluorescently
labelled probes (also called an RNA gel blot).
Ontology In the context of computer and information sciences, an ontology defines
a set of representational primitives with which to model a domain of knowledge
or discourse. The Gene Ontology for example provides a controlled vocabulary to
describe gene and gene product attributes in any organism.
ORF Open Reading Frame, a series of codons beginning with a start codon and
ending with a stop codon, without any internal stop codons.
Organelle A differentiated structure within a cell, such as a chloroplast, mitochondrion or vacuole, which performs a specific function.
Orthologue Orthologous sequences are homologous sequences that have been separated by a speciation event. A gene that exists in a particular species that then
diverges into two separate species, will be present in two copies afterwards. These
copies are called orthologues and will typically have the same or a similar function.
PAMP Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns; Small molecular motifs conserved within a class of microbes; LPS (see above) is considered to be the
prototypical PAMP.
Pangenome Unique set of proteins for a given species. In bacteria, the pangenome
can be twice the size of the genomes of individual members of a species.
Paralogue Homologous sequences that have been separated by a gene duplication
event in an ancestral genome are called paralogous. Paralogous genes may mutate
and acquire new functions because the original selective pressure is reduced.
PCR Polymerase chain reaction. A technique for replicating a specific piece of
DNA in-vitro. Oligonucleotide primers are added (which initiate the copying of each
strand) along with nucleotides and Taq polymerase. By cycling the temperature, the