Glossary of cellular and molecular biology (0–L)

Also binding site and catalytic site.Also sex chromosome, heterochromosome, or idiochromosome.Also differential splicing or simply splicing.Also tRNA-ligase.Also aminoacylated tRNA and charged tRNA.Also antisense transcript and antisense oligonucleotide (ASO).Also anuclear.Also compound X.

cisternaeAlso sense strand, positive (+) sense strand, and nontemplate strand.Also copy DNA.Also confluency.Also canonical sequence.Also contact inhibition of growth or density-dependent inhibition.Also cooperative binding.Also CG island and C-G island.Also CG site and C-G site.Also CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing.(pl.)

cristaeAlso cross-link.Also carboxyl terminus.Also C-value paradox.Also protoplasmic streaming and cyclosis.Also hyaloplasm and groundplasm.

Denoted in shorthand with the somatic number n.Also inheritance.Also histone octamer and core particle.Also homeodomain responsive element.Also homologs or homologues.Also lateral gene transfer (LGT).Sometimes used interchangeably with lipophilic.

Also ideogram.Also insertion element or simply insert.Also intrinsic membrane protein.Also transmembrane protein.Also interphase II.Also intragenic region.

A ribose ring with the carbon atoms numbered 1' through 5' according to chemical convention. The 5' carbon is said to be upstream ; the 3' carbon is said to be downstream . Bonds to a generic base and a phosphate group are also shown.
The chemical structure of acetyl-CoA , with the acetyl group highlighted in blue
Every amino acid has the same basic structural formula, consisting of a central carbon atom (α) bonded to three major substituents: one amino group (blue), one carboxyl group (red), and one variable side chain (green). The side chain, which can range from a simple methyl group ( alanine ) to more complex functional groups such as a double-ringed indole ( tryptophan ), gives each particular amino acid its unique identity. During translation , amino acids are joined into a linear chain by condensation reactions which create peptide bonds between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of an adjacent amino acid. The first and last amino acids in the chain are said to be N-terminal and C-terminal , respectively, in reference to the unbonded amino group of the first amino acid and the unbonded carboxyl group of the last.
The apical constriction of specific groups of cells during developmental morphogenesis allows bends and turns to form in higher-order tissues.
The three principal biologically active conformations of DNA molecules: A-DNA , B-DNA , and Z-DNA (left to right), as viewed from the side and down the axis of the double helix .
Cross-sectional diagram of a typical eukaryotic cell membrane
Possible types of information transfer according to the central dogma of molecular biology . Three general transfers, in red, occur routinely in all living cells: DNA-to-DNA ( DNA replication ), DNA-to-RNA ( transcription ), and RNA-to-protein ( translation ). Three special transfers, in blue, are known to occur only in viruses or in the laboratory: RNA-to-RNA ( RNA replication ), RNA-to-DNA ( reverse transcription ), and DNA-to-protein (direct translation without an mRNA intermediate). An additional three transfers are believed not to be possible at all: protein-to-protein, protein-to-RNA, and protein-to-DNA—though it has been argued that there are exceptions by which all three can occur.
Deoxyribose differs from ribose only at the 2' carbon, where ribose has an oxygen atom that deoxyribose lacks (hence its name).
A diagram of the many components of DNA replication
The molecular structures of several common classes of DNA-binding domains (grey), showing how they interact with the DNA double helix (blue)
Double-stranded DNA most commonly exists in the shape of a double helix .
Different forms of endocytosis
Plasmid map of a 3,756- bp expression vector used in the expression of a transgene that makes green fluorescent protein (GFP). The vector also includes a gene for the lac repressor (lacI) and a gene conferring resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin (KanR), as well as various promoters for driving the expression of these genes.
The karyotype of a typical human male, as visualized in a karyogram using Giemsa staining