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| Term | Meaning | Link |
| Aminoglycoside | Aminoglycosides are antibiotics which work by interfering with bacterial ribosoms which prevents the bacterium from making proteins vital to its growth. | 1. Wikipedia |
| Antibiotic | These substances prevent the growth of or harm bacteria. They are used to treat infectious illness and in scientific research. | 1. Wikipedia |
| CAS | Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) numbers are unique to each chemical. The American Chemical Society runs this service and they, assign an identifier to every chemical described in relevant literature. Note that CAS numbers are also referred to as CAS RNs or CAS #s. |
1. Chemical Abstracts Service 2. American Chemical Society |
| Geneticin® | Geneticin® is the trademark of the compound produced by the company Invitrogen. It is simply G-418 sold under a specific brand. | NA |
| Gene transfer experiments |
In these experiments scientists cut up DNA (genetic material) and select
a specific gene to introduce into a carrier organism - usually a simple
bacteria. This has been done to get bacteria to produce human
insulin for treating diabetes - in this case a human gene was obtained
and inserted into the DNA of bacteria. However in most of these techniques only one in several million bacteria cells will pick up the new gene - this where markers and selective agent come in - they allow scientists to sort those bacteria which have a particular gene of interest from those that do not (see below for further information). |
1. Wikipedia |
| Markers (genetic) | Genetic markers are simply specific areas of DNA which can can pinpointed some how. They can be a tiny area of a gene or DNA strand or whole genes. One type of genetic marker is a 'selectable marker', this gene(s) will keep a cell alive when it is exposed to something that would normally kill it - a selective agent (see below). |
1. Wikipedia 2. Wikipedia |
| Selective agent | Antibiotics are the most common selective agents. | 1. Wikipedia |