( strong Molecules composed of a nitroge...)Glossary for The BioPharm Guide to Fermentation and Cell Culture

nucleus The largest organelle, a sphere that contains all the cells genetic material and a nucleolus that builds ribosomes.

oncogene A gene that, when expressed as a protein, can lead cells to become cancerous, usually by removing the normal constraints on its growth.

organelle A structurally discrete component that performs a certain func tion inside a eukaryotic cell.

organism A single, autonomous living thing. Bacteria and yeasts are organ isms; mammalian and insect cells used in culture are not.

PCR Polymerase chain reaction, a method of duplicating genes exponential ly.

peptides Proteins consisting of fewer than 40 amino acids.

phenotype The part of an organisms genotype that is expressed, and thus is generally apparent by observation.

pilot plant A medium-scale bioprocessing facility used as an intermediate in scaling up processes from the laboratory to commercial production.

plasmid Hereditary material that is not part of a chromosome. Plasmids are circular and self-replicating and found in the cytoplasm of cells (naturally in bacteria and some yeasts). They can be used as vectors for introducing up to 10,000 base-pairs of foreign DNA into recipient cells.

polymerase An enzyme that catalyzes the production of nucleic acid mole cules.

posttranslational modifications Protein processing done by the Golgi bodies after proteins have been constructed by ribosomes.
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