CHSE Odisha Elective Biotechnology key terms

The industrial use of living organisms, cells, or their components to make useful products or provide services, spanning medicine, agriculture, fermentation, and environmental management.

Controlled microbial growth in a vessel to convert nutrients into products such as alcohol, antibiotics, or enzymes, either in open batch mode or in continuous flow.

The set of methods for joining DNA fragments from different sources and introducing the resulting molecule into a host cell for cloning or expression.

A bacterial protein that cuts DNA at a specific recognition sequence, protecting the bacterium from foreign DNA and providing the standard tool for cutting DNA in cloning work.

A small, circular, extrachromosomal DNA molecule that replicates independently in bacteria and is widely engineered as a vector for carrying inserted genes into host cells.

A DNA molecule such as a plasmid, bacteriophage, or artificial chromosome used to carry a foreign DNA insert into a host cell where it can be maintained and multiplied.

The uptake of free DNA from the surroundings by a competent bacterial cell, which may then express the newly acquired genes; also used for deliberate introduction of engineered plasmids.

A bacterial cell made able to take up external DNA, usually by calcium chloride treatment or by brief high-voltage pulses, so that plasmids can enter it efficiently.

An enzyme that seals nicks between adjacent nucleotides by forming phosphodiester bonds, used to join a DNA insert to a cut vector during cloning.

An in-vitro method that repeatedly cycles template denaturation, primer annealing, and extension by a heat-stable polymerase to amplify a chosen DNA segment exponentially.

A short single-stranded oligonucleotide that anneals to a complementary template and supplies the free 3-hydroxyl end from which a DNA polymerase begins synthesis.

A technique that separates charged molecules such as DNA fragments or proteins by size and charge as they migrate through a gel under an applied electric field.

The semi-conservative process in which a double helix is unwound and each strand templates synthesis of a new complementary strand, yielding two identical daughter duplexes.

The synthesis of an RNA molecule from a DNA template by RNA polymerase, producing messenger, transfer, or ribosomal RNA as required by the cell.

The ribosome-driven decoding of messenger RNA codons into a chain of amino acids, using transfer RNAs that deliver the specified residues.

The standard flow of genetic information in cells, from DNA to RNA to protein, with reverse transcription as a known exception in retroviruses.

A cell lacking a membrane-bound nucleus and organelles, with a single circular chromosome and typically a rigid cell wall, as found in bacteria and archaea.

A cell whose genetic material is enclosed in a nuclear membrane and which contains membrane-bound organelles such as mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi bodies.

Double-membrane organelles that generate most cellular ATP through oxidative phosphorylation and contain their own small circular DNA genome.

The complete destruction or removal of all viable microorganisms, including endospores, from a medium, surface, or piece of equipment, usually by heat, filtration, or radiation.

A sealed pressure vessel that sterilizes media, glassware, and waste with saturated steam under pressure, typically at 121 degrees Celsius and about 15 pounds per square inch.

A set of practised procedures, such as flaming loops and working near a flame, that keeps cultures and sterile materials free from contaminating microorganisms.

A differential staining method that divides bacteria into Gram-positive and Gram-negative groups according to whether their thick or thin peptidoglycan wall retains the crystal violet dye.

An unorganised mass of dedifferentiated plant cells produced when explants are grown on a medium containing suitable auxin and cytokinin proportions.

A piece of plant tissue, such as a leaf segment, node, or anther, removed from a donor plant and placed on a nutrient medium to start a culture.

The rapid clonal multiplication of plants from small explants in sterile culture, used to produce large numbers of genetically uniform planting material.

The formation of embryo-like structures from somatic cells in culture, which can develop into complete plantlets and is exploited for synthetic seed production.

The merging of plant cells whose walls have been enzymatically removed, allowing hybrid cells to form and used to create crosses that cannot be made by normal pollination.

An identical antibody population produced by a single cloned cell line, binding one specific epitope and widely used in diagnosis and targeted therapy.

A fused cell line made by joining an antibody-secreting B lymphocyte with a myeloma cell, giving indefinite division together with continuous secretion of one antibody.

Any foreign substance, such as a protein or polysaccharide, that the immune system recognises and that can provoke a specific antibody or cellular response.

A Y-shaped immunoglobulin protein made by plasma cells that binds a specific antigen and helps neutralise or clear it from the body.

A preparation of weakened, killed, or subunit antigen, or of nucleic acid instructions, that trains the immune system to resist a pathogen without causing the disease.

A substance added to a vaccine to strengthen and shape the immune response to the antigen, allowing smaller doses or fewer injections.

The use of microorganisms or plants to remove, degrade, or immobilise pollutants in soil, water, or air, converting them to less harmful forms.

Clean-up of contaminated soil or water using plants that accumulate, stabilise, or degrade pollutants in their tissues or root zone.

An aerobic sewage treatment method in which a dense microbial floc is mixed with wastewater, then settled, with part of the sludge returned to seed the next batch.

A graded set of containment practices, equipment, and facility design, numbered one to four, matched to the risk group of the agents handled in a laboratory.

The study of moral questions raised by biological research and its applications, including consent, genetic modification, patenting of life forms, and equitable access to therapies.

A legal right granted for an invention that is new, involves an inventive step, and has industrial application, giving the holder limited exclusive use for a fixed term.