"Before start of the course, these terms and its relativity to Microbial Genetics should be known to the class. Though these are already familiar, please read and understand them carefully"

Terms related to Microbial Genetics

Reproduction: Process by which all living organisms produce many of their young ones of same type.

Genetics: The study of heredity. Heredity refers the process by which all living organisms produce offspring like themselves.

Genome: The complete genetic content of a cell or organism, including chromosomes, plasmids, and prophages. The total genetic information of an organism.

Genetic code: The assignment of each of the triplet codons of mRNA to amino adds and translation stop signals

Genomics: The comparative analysis of genomic DNA sequences from different organisms.

Gene: The genetic unit of function. A gene may encode a polypeptide or a molecule of non-translated RNA (e.g. ribosomal RNA, transfer RNA, or a regulatory RNA).

Alleles: Alternative forms of a gene. For example, the mutants putA601 and putA736 each have a different mutation in the putA gene.

Phenotype: Observable property of an organism. Ex. Pigmentation; colony morphology; antibiotic resistance Phenotype can be described like this: E. coli Amp^R refers that E. coli strain able to grow in the presence of amphicillin.

Genotype: A specific description of the genetic constitution of an organism. In other words, the genetic description of an organism. Genotype can be described like this: E. coli bla refers that E. coli strain contains bla gene (Betalactamase gene) which gives amphicillin resistance. Another example: E coli lacZ refers the presence of lacZ gene.

Chromosome: In eukaryotes, the self-replicating DNA molecules are physically separated into separate units and each unit is referred as chromosome.

Haploid: Only one copy of each chromosome per cell. (Prokaryotes are haploid, although more than one copy of a chromosome may be transiently present in the cell, depending on the rate of DNA replication and the growth rate.)

Diploid: An organism which contains pairs of each chromosome.

Base pair: A complementary purine and pyrimidine that are hydrogen-bonded to form double-stranded DNA or RNA.

Clone: Cells derived from a single cell and thus expected to be genetically identical.

Plasmid: The extra-chromosomal DNA with self replicating ability in the cytoplasm. Most plasmids are covalently closed circular (CCC) DNA.

Mitosis: The normal process of nuclear division in a eukaryote, whereby nuclear division occurs on a spindle structure without reduction in the chromosome number in the daughter nuclei.

Meiosis: The process of nuclear division associated with the formation of gametes or of haploid cells from a diploid.

Mutation: Any heritable alteration in the base sequence of the genetic material.

Mutant: An organism with an altered base sequence in one or several genes. Usually refers to an organism with a mutation that causes a phenotypic difference from the wild-type.

Wild-type: A strain used as a standard reference to compare any mutant derivatives. They are isolated from natural resources and possessing the original form of genes.

Chromosomal DNA: The genome of prokaryotes, is single long circular, covalently closed DNA, which is referred as chromosomal DNA or chromatins or circular chromosomes.

Thallus: Body of an organism (common term used for fungi, algae, lower plants etc.)

Sporophyte: An organism which has diploid thallus and bearing spores

Gametophyte: An organism which has haploid thallus and bearing gametes.

Gene expression: Process through which segment of DNA codes for a polypeptide / protein through transcription and translation