Genetics Key Words Glossary

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Homologous: homologous chromosomes are a pair of equivalent chromosomes with the same structure and arrangement of genes. Usually one is inherited from the mother and one from the father.

Bivalent: a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Locus: the postition of a particular gene ona chromosome.

Alleles: an alternative form of a gene eg in plants, one allele is for tall and one is for short.

Gene: a section of DNA on a chromosome which controls a characteristic of an organism. It carries the genetic code to produce one or more polypeptide or protein, or to make RNA.

Chromosomes: the strands of genetic material contained in the nucleus of a cell. Each one consist of a molecule of DNA wrapped around histone proteins.

Chromatid: one of the two identical strands of genetic material that make up a chromosome during cell division.

Dominant: the condition in which the effect of only one allele is seen in the phenotype, even in the presence of an…

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