CHSE Odisha Elective Biotechnology flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Biotechnology

Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or their derivatives to make or modify products or processes for a specific use, spanning medicine, agriculture, industry and environment.

Department of Biotechnology

Indian government agency established in 1986 under the Ministry of Science and Technology to promote research, infrastructure and regulation of biotechnology, including the RCGM.

Fluid mosaic model

Model proposed by Singer and Nicolson in 1972 describing the plasma membrane as a phospholipid bilayer with proteins embedded or attached, able to move laterally.

Chemiosmotic theory

Peter Mitchell's explanation that a proton gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane drives ATP synthase to produce ATP during oxidative phosphorylation.

Generation time

The time a bacterial population takes to double during exponential growth; calculated as g = t/n where n is the number of doublings in time t.

Gram staining

Differential staining using crystal violet, iodine, alcohol and safranin; Gram-positive cells retain the purple dye, Gram-negative cells appear pink after counterstaining.

Semiconservative replication

Each new DNA molecule retains one parental strand and one newly synthesised strand; demonstrated by the Meselson-Stahl density gradient experiment.

Okazaki fragments

Short DNA pieces synthesised discontinuously on the lagging strand in the direction opposite to fork movement, later joined by DNA ligase.

Restriction endonuclease

Enzyme that cuts DNA at a specific recognition sequence; Type II enzymes such as EcoRI cut palindromic sites and are widely used in cloning.

Blue-white screening

Selection method where insert-containing plasmids disrupt lacZ, giving white colonies on X-gal plates, while non-recombinant plasmids produce blue colonies.

Polymerase chain reaction

In vitro amplification of DNA using repeated cycles of denaturation, primer annealing and extension by a thermostable polymerase, doubling the target each cycle.

Murashige and Skoog medium

Widely used plant tissue culture medium containing macroelements, microelements, vitamins, sucrose and growth regulators, solidified with agar at pH 5.7-5.8.

Totipotency

The capacity of a single plant cell to regenerate into a complete plant under suitable culture conditions, the basis of micropropagation.

Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Soil bacterium that transfers T-DNA from its Ti plasmid into plant cells, exploited as a natural vector for plant genetic engineering.

Hybridoma technology

Fusion of an antibody-producing B cell with an immortal myeloma cell to produce hybrid cells that secrete monoclonal antibodies indefinitely in culture.

HeLa cell line

First continuous human cell line, derived from cervical carcinoma in 1951, widely used in research because it grows indefinitely in culture.

Stirred tank fermenter

Bioreactor with an impeller and baffles for mixing, sparging air for oxygen transfer, used for submerged fermentation of antibiotics, enzymes and metabolites.

kLa

Volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient describing the rate of oxygen transfer from gas to liquid in a fermenter; a key scale-up parameter.

Downstream processing

Recovery and purification of a fermentation product, involving cell separation, disruption, concentration, chromatography and formulation steps.

BOD5

Biochemical oxygen demand measured over five days at 20 degrees Celsius, indicating biodegradable organic load in water and wastewater.

Phytoremediation

Use of plants to remove, stabilise or degrade contaminants in soil and water, including phytoextraction, rhizofiltration and phytovolatilisation.

Activated sludge process

Aerobic wastewater treatment where microorganisms in aerated mixed liquor degrade organic matter, followed by settlement in a clarifier and sludge recycling.

Recombinant insulin

Human insulin produced by genetically engineered E. coli or yeast carrying the insulin gene; approved in 1982 as the first rDNA pharmaceutical.

Monoclonal antibody

Identical antibody molecules from a single clone, binding one specific epitope; used in cancer therapy, diagnostics and autoimmune disease treatment.

Therapeutic index

Ratio of the toxic dose to the effective dose (TD50/ED50); a larger value indicates a wider margin of drug safety.

Herd immunity

Indirect protection of unvaccinated individuals when a sufficient proportion of the population is immune; threshold equals 1 minus 1/R0.

MHC class I

Cell surface molecule on nearly all nucleated cells that presents endogenous peptides to CD8-positive cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

Immunoglobulin M

Pentameric antibody produced early in a primary immune response; strong complement activator and marker of recent infection.

GEAC

Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which approves environmental release and field trials of genetically modified organisms in India.

Cartagena Protocol

International agreement on biosafety governing transboundary movement of living modified organisms, ensuring informed consent and risk assessment.

Patentability criteria

An invention must show novelty, an inventive step and industrial application; in India, plants, animals and essentially biological processes are excluded from patenting.

Biosafety level

Containment classification from BSL-1 to BSL-4 based on pathogen risk, specifying laboratory design, equipment, PPE and waste treatment practices.