GENETICS

CONCEPT

Genetics is the area of biological study concerned with heredity and with the variations between organisms that result from it. It demands an understanding of numerous terms, such as DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), a molecule in all cells that contains blueprints for genetic inheritance; genes, units of information about particular heritable traits, which are made from DNA; and chromosomes, DNA-containing bodies, located in the cells of most living things, that hold most of the organism's genes. The vocabulary of genetics goes far beyond these three terms, as we shall see, but these are the core concepts. Among the areas in which genetics is applied is forensic science, or the application of science to matters of law—specifically, through "DNA fingerprinting," whereby samples of skin, blood, semen, and other materials can be used to prove or disprove a suspect's innocence. Another fascinating application of genetics is the Human Genome Project, an effort whose goals include the location and identification of every gene in the human body.

HOW IT WORKS

GENETICS AND HEREDITY

Genetics and heredity, the subject of another essay in this book, are closely related ideas. Whereas heredity is the transmission of genetic characteristics from ancestor to descendant through the genes, genetics is concerned with hereditary traits passed down from one generation to the next. It is very hard, if not impossible, to separate the two concepts completely, yet the entire body of knowledge encompassed by these topics is so large and so complex that it is best to separate them as much as possible. For this reason, the Heredity essay is concerned with such issues as how traits are passed on and why they appear in a particular generation but not another. That essay addresses the topics of alleles, dominant and recessive genes, and so on. It also briefly discusses the history of studies in areas that encompass genetics, heredity, and the mechanics thereof. In general, the Heredity essay is concerned with the larger patterns of inheritance over the generations, while the present one examines inheritance at a level smaller than the microscopic—that is, from the molecular or biochemical level.

SOMATIC AND GERM CELLS

Heredity begins with the cell, the smallest basic unit of all life. The information for heredity is carried within the cell nucleus, which is the control center not only in physical terms (it is usually located near the middle of the cell) but also because it contains the chromosomes. Within these threadlike structures is the genetic information organized in DNA molecules.

There are two basic types of cell in a multicellular organism: somatic, or body, cells, and germ, or reproductive, cells. The somatic cells are the primary components of most organisms, making up everything except some of the the cells in reproductive organs. The somatic cells of humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, or 46 chromosomes overall, and are thus known as diploid cells. As the cells grow, they reproduce themselves by a process called mitosis, whereby a diploid cell splits to produce new diploids, each of which is a replica of the original. Thus cells grow and are replaced, making possible the formation of specific tissues and organs, such as muscles and nerves. Without mitosis, an organism's cells would not regenerate, resulting not only in cell death but possibly even the death of the entire organism. Mitosis is also the means of reproduction for organisms that reproduce asexually (see Reproduction).

A germ cell, by contrast, undergoes a process of cell division known as meiosis, whereby it becomes a haploid cell—a cell with half the basic number of chromosomes, which for a human would be 23 unpaired chromosomes. The sperm cells in a male and the egg cells in a female are both haploid germ cells: each contains only 23 chromosomes, and each is prepared to form a new diploid by fusion with another haploid. Sperm cells and egg cells are known as gametes, mature male or female germ cells that possess a haploid set of chromosomes and are prepared to form a new diploid by undergoing fusion with a haploid gamete of the opposite sex.

When egg and sperm fuse, they form a zygote, in which the diploid chromosome number is restored, with the zygote possessing the same chromosomes as both the sperm and the egg. This cell carries all the genetic information needed to grow into an embryo and eventually a full-grown human, with the specific traits and attributes passed on by the parents. Not all offspring of the same parents are the same, of course, and this is because the sperm cells and egg cells vary in their genetic codes—that is, in their DNA blueprints.

THE DNA BLUEPRINT

To understand genes and their biological function in heredity, it is necessary to understand the chemical makeup and structure of DNA. The complete DNA molecule often is referred to as the blueprint for life, because it carries all the instructions, in the form of genes, for the growth and functioning of organisms. This fundamental molecule is similar in appearance to a spiral staircase, which also is called a double helix. The sides of the DNA ladder are made up of alternate sugar and phosphate molecules, like links in a chain. The rungs, or steps, of DNA are made from a combination of four different chemical bases. Two of these, adenine and guanine, are known as purines, and the other two, cytosine and thymine, are pyrimidines. The four letters designating these bases—A, G, C, and T—are the alphabet of the genetic code, and each rung of the DNA molecule is made up of a combination of two of these letters.

DNA SEQUENCES.

In this genetic code A always combines with T and C with G, to form what is called a base pair. Specific sequences of these base pairs make up the genes. Although a four-letter alphabet may seem rather small for constructing the extensive vocabulary that defines the myriad life-forms on Earth, in practice, the sequences of these base pairs make for almost limitless combinations. For any sequence, there are four possibilities as to the first two letters (AT, TA, CG, or GC) and four more possibilities for the second two letters. Thus, just for a four-letter sequence, there are 16 possibilities, and for each pair of letters added to the sequence, the total is multiplied by four. Given the long strings of base pairs that form DNA sequences, the numbers can be extremely large.

The more complex an organism, from bacteria to humans, the more rungs, or genetic sequences, appear on the ladder. The entire genetic makeup of a human, for example, may contain three billion base pairs, with the average gene unit being 2,000-200,000 base pairs long. Each one of these combinations has a different meaning, providing the code not only for the type of organism but also for specific traits, such as brown hair and blue eyes, dimples, detached earlobes, and so on and on. Except for identical twins, no two humans have exactly the same genetic information.

DNA REPLICATION, PROTEIN SYNTHESIS, AND RNA

Genetic information is duplicated during the process of DNA replication, which is initiated by proteins in the cells. To produce identical genetic information during cell mitosis, the DNA hydrogen bonds between the two strands arebroken, splitting the DNA in half lengthwise. This process begins a few hours before the initiation of cell mitosis, and once it is completed, each half of the DNA ladder is capable of forming a new DNA molecule with an identical genetic code. It can do this because of specific chemical catalysts (a substance that enables a chemical reaction without taking part in it) that help synthesize the complementary strand.

Catalysts formed from proteins are known as enzymes, and the functioning of specific cells and organisms is conducted by enzymes synthesized by the cells. Cells contain hundreds of different proteins, complex molecules that make up more than half of all solid body tissues and control most biological processes within and among these tissues. A cell functions in accordance with the particular protein—one of thousands of different types—it contains. It is the genetic base-pair sequence in DNA that determines, or "codes for," the specific arrangement of amino acids to build particular proteins.

Since the sites of protein production lie outside the cell nucleus, coded messages pass from the DNA in the nucleus to the cytoplasm, the material inside the cell that is external to the nucleus. This transfer of messages is achieved by RNA, or ribonucleic acid, and specifically by messenger RNA, or mRNA. Other types of RNA molecules are involved in linking the amino-acids together in a sequence form to shape the protein. (For more about amino acids, proteins, and enzymes, see the respective essays devoted to each subject.)

MUTATION

Once a protein has been created for a specific function, it cannot be changed. This is why the theory of acquired characteristics (the idea that changes in an organism's overall anatomy, as opposed to changes in its DNA, can be passed on to offspring) is a fallacy. People may have genes that make it easier for them to acquire certain traits, such as larger muscles or the ability to play the piano through exercise or practice, respectively, but the traits themselves, if they are acquired during the life of the individual and are not encoded in the DNA, are not heritable.

There is only one way in which changes that take place during the life of an organism can be passed on to its offspring, and that is if those changes are encoded in the organism's DNA. This is known as mutation. Suppose lung cancer develops in a man as a result of smoking; unless a tendency to cancer is already a part of his genetic makeup, he cannot genetically pass the disease on to his unborn children. But if the tobacco has acted as a mutagen, a substance that brings about mutation, it is possible that his DNA can be altered in such a way as to pass on either the tendency toward lung cancer or some other characteristic.

Because DNA is extremely stable chemically, it rarely mutates, or experiences an alteration in its physical structure, during replication. But because there are so many strands of DNA in the world, and so much material in the strands, mutation is bound to happen eventually—and, to an extent, at least, this is a good thing. Mutation is the engine that drives evolution, and a certain amount of genetic variation is necessary if species are to adapt by natural selection to a changing environment. If it were not for mutation, neither humans nor the many millions of other species that exist would ever have appeared.

Mutation often occurs when chromosome segments from two parents physically exchange places with each other during the process of meiosis. This is known as genetic recombination. Genes also can change by mutations in the DNA molecule, which take place when a mutagen alters the chemical or physical makeup of DNA. The mutations that result are of two types, corresponding to the two basic varieties of cell: somatic mutations, which occur solely within the affected individual, and germinal mutations, which happen in the DNA of germ cells, producing altered genes that may be passed on to the next generation.

The odd thing about mutations is that while most of them are harmful, the few that are beneficial are, as we have noted, the driving force behind the evolution of life-forms that successfully adapt to their environments. Thus, while most germinal mutations bring about congenital disorders (birth defects) ranging from physical abnormalities to deficiencies in body or mind to diseases, every once in a while a germinal mutation results in an improvement, such as a change in body coloring that acts as camouflage. If the trait improves an individual organism's chances for survival within a particular environment, it may become a permanent trait of the species, because the offspring with this gene have a greater chance of survival and thus will pass on the trait to succeeding generations. (For more about mutation, see the essay by that title. See also Evolution for a discussion of the role played by mutation and natural selection in the evolution of species.)

REAL-LIFE APPLICATIONS

THE GENETICS REVOLUTION

In the modern world genetics plays a part in more dramatic breakthroughs than any other

field of biological study. These breakthroughs have an impact in a wide variety of areas, from curing diseases to growing better vegetables to catching criminals. The field of genetics is in the midst of a revolution, and at the center of this exciting (and, to some minds, terrifying) phenomenon is the realm of genetic engineering: the alteration of genetic material by direct intervention in genetic processes. In agriculture, for instance, genes are transplanted from one organism to another to produce what are known as transgenic animals or plants. This approach has been used to reduce the amount of fat in cattle raised for meat or to increase proteins in the milk produced by dairy cattle. Fruits and vegetables also have been genetically engineered so that they do not bruise easily or have a longer shelf life.

Not all of the work in genetics is genetic engineering per se; in the realm of law, for instance, the most important application of genetics is genetic fingerprinting. A genetic fingerprint is a sample of a person's DNA that is detailed enough to distinguish it from the DNA of all others. The genetic fingerprint can be used to identify whether a man is the father of a particular child (i.e., to determine paternity), and it can be applied in the solving of crimes. If biological samples can be obtained from a crime scene—for example, skin under the fingernails of a murder victim, presumably the result of fighting against the assailant in the last few moments of life—it is possible to determine with a high degree of accuracy whether that sample came from a particular suspect. The use of DNA in forensic science is discussed near the conclusion of this essay.

THE REVOLUTION IN MEDICINE.

Some of the biggest strides in genetic engineering and related fields are taking place, not surprisingly, in the realm of medicine. Genetic engineering in the area of health is aimed at understanding the causes of disease and developing treatments for them: for example, recombinant DNA (a DNA sequence from one species that is combined with the DNA of another species) is being used to develop antibiotics, hormones, and other disease-preventing agents. Vaccines also have been genetically re-engineered to trigger an immune response that will protect against specific diseases. One approach is to remove genetic material from a diseased organism, thus making the material weaker and initiating an immune response without causing the disease. (See Immunity and Immunology for more about how vaccines work.)

Gene therapy is another outgrowth of genetics. The idea behind gene therapy is to introduce specific genes into the body either to correct a genetic defect or to enhance the body's capabilities to fight off disease and repair itself. Since many inherited or genetic diseases are caused by the lack of an enzyme or protein, scientists hope one day to treat the unborn child by inserting genes to provide the missing enzyme. (For more about inherited disorders, see the essays Disease, Noninfectious Diseases, and Mutation.)

THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT.

One of the most exciting developments in genetics is the initiation of the Human Genome Project, designed to provide a complete genetic map outlining the location and function of the 40,000 or so genes that are found in human cells. (A genome is all of the genetic material in the chromosomes of a particular organism.) With the completion of this map, genetic researchers will have easy access to specific genes, to study how the human body works and to develop therapies for diseases. Gene maps for other species of animals also are being developed.

The project had its origins in the 1990s, with the efforts of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH connection is probably clear enough, but the DOE's involvement at first might seem strange. What, exactly, does genetics have to do with electricity, petroleum, and other concerns of the DOE? The answer is that the DOE grew out of agencies, among them the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), established soon after the explosion of the two atomic bombs over Japan in 1945. Even at that early date, educated nonscientists understood that the radioactive fallout produced from nuclear weaponry can act as a mutagen; therefore, Congress instructed the AEC to undertake a broad study of genetics and mutation and the possible consequences of exposure to radiation and the chemical by-products of energy production.

Eventually, scientists in the AEC and, later, the DOE recognized that the best way to undertake such a study was to analyze the entire scope of the human genome. The project formally commenced on October 1, 1990, and is scheduled for completion in the middle of the first decade of the twenty-first century. Upon completion, the Human Genome Project will provide a vast store of knowledge and no doubt will lead to the curing of many diseases.

Still, there are many who question the Human Genome Project in particular, and genetic engineering in general, on ethical grounds, fearing that it could give scientists or governments

too much power, unleash a Nazi-style eugenics (selective breeding) program, or result in horrible errors, such as the creation of deadly new diseases. In fact, it is impossible to search "genetic engineering" on the World Wide Web without coming across the Web sites of literally dozens and dozens of agencies, activist groups, and individuals opposed to genetic engineering and the mapping of the human genome. For more about the Human Genome Project, genetic engineering, and their opponents, see Genetic Engineering.

GENETICS IN FORENSIC SCIENCE

Forensic science, as we noted earlier, is the application of science to matters of law. It is based on the idea that a criminal always leaves behind some kind of material evidence that, through careful analysis, can be used to determine the identity of the perpetrator—and to exonerate someone falsely accused. Among those forms of material evidence of interest to forensic scientists working in the field of genetics are blood, semen, hair, saliva, and skin, all of which contain DNA that can be analyzed. In addition, there are areas of forensic science that rely on biological study, though not in the area of genetics: blood typing as well as the analysis of fingerprints or bite marks, both of which have patterns that are as unique to a single individual as DNA is.

One of the first detectives to use science, including biology and medicine, in solving crimes was a fictional character: Sherlock Holmes, whose creator, the British writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), happened to be a physician as well. The first full-fledged (and real) police practitioner of forensic science was the French police official Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914), who developed an identification system that consisted of a photograph and 11 body measurements, including dimensions of the head, arms, legs, feet, hands, and so on, for each individual. Bertillon claimed that the likelihood of two people having the same measurements for all 11 traits was less than one in 250 million. In 1894 fingerprints, which were easier to use and more unique than body measurements, were added to the Bertillon system.

Fingerprints, unlike DNA, are unique to the individual; indeed, identical twins have the same DNA but different fingerprints. Mark Twain (1835-1910) could not have known this in 1894, when he published The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, and the Comedy of Those Extraordinary Twins. Nonetheless, the story involves a murder committed by one man and blamed on his twin, who eventually is exonerated on the basis of fingerprint evidence—still a new concept at the time. In some situations, however, fingerprint evidence may be unavailable, and though law-enforcement agencies have developed extraordinary techniques for analyzing nearly invisible (i.e., latent) prints, sometimes this is still not enough.

THE SIMPSON CASE AND THE CONTROVERSY OVER DNA EVIDENCE.

For example, in the infamous murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994, fingerprint evidence would have been ineffective in the case against the suspect, the former football star and actor O. J. Simpson. Since Nicole Simpson was his ex-wife,

the appearance of his prints at the scene of her murder in her Los Angeles home could be explained away easily, even though she had taken out a restraining order against her former husband (who she had accused of spousal abuse) some time before the murder. Rather than fingerprints, the prosecution in his murder trial used DNA evidence connecting blood at the crime scene with blood found in Simpson's vehicle. (Some of this blood was apparently his own, since he had mysterious cuts on his hands that he could not explain to police officers.)

A jury found Simpson not guilty on October 3, 1995, and jurors later claimed that the prosecution had failed to make a strong case using DNA evidence. Furthermore, they cited police contamination of the DNA evidence, which had been established in their minds by Simpson's defense team, as a cause for reasonable doubt concerning Simpson's guilt. In fact, assuming that the defense was fully justified in this claim, that would have meant only that the DNA samples would have been less (not more) likely to convict Simpson.

At the same time, a number of legitimate concerns regarding the use of DNA evidence were raised by experts for the defense in the Simpson trial. Samples can become contaminated and thus difficult to read; small samples are difficult for analysts to work with effectively; and results are often open to interpretation. Furthermore, the outcome of the Simpson case illustrates the fact that findings based on DNA evidence are not readily understood by non-specialists, and may not make the best basis for a case-particularly in one so fraught with controversy. The prosecution based its case almost entirely on extremely technical material, explained in excruciating detail by experts who had devoted their lives to studying areas that are far beyond the understanding of the average person. Attempting to wow the jurors with science, the prosecution instead seemed to create the impression that DNA evidence was some sort of hocus-pocus invented to frame an innocent man. Simpson went free, though the jury in a 1996 civil trial (which took a much simpler approach, eschewing complicated DNA testimony) found him guilty.

DNA EVIDENCE SUCCESS STORIES.

Because of the Simpson case, the use of DNA evidence gained something of a bad name. Nonetheless, it has been successful in less high profile cases, beginning in 1986, when English police tracked down a rapist and murderer by collecting blood samples from some 2,000 men. One of them, named Colin Pitchfork, paid another man to provide a sample in his place. This attracted the attention of the police, who tested his DNA and found their man.

Since that time, DNA evidence has been used in more than 24,000 cases and has aided in the conviction of about 700 suspects. The DNA in such cases is not always obtained from a human subject. In the investigation of the May 1992 murder of Denise Johnson in Arizona, a homicide detective found two seed pods from a paloverde tree in the bed of a pickup truck owned by the suspect, Mark Bogan. The accused man admitted having known the victim but denied ever having been near the site where her body was found. It so happened that there was a paloverde tree at the site, and testing showed that the DNA in the pods on his truck bed matched that of the tree itself. Bogan became the first suspect ever convicted by a plant.

On the other hand, in some cases, DNA evidence has cleared a suspect falsely accused. Such was the case with Kerry Kotler, convicted in 1981 for rape, robbery, and burglary and sentenced to 25-50 years in jail. In 1988, Kotler began petitioning for DNA analysis, which subsequently showed that his DNA did not match that of the rapist, who had left a semen sample in the victim's underwear. Kotler was released in December 1992 and in March 1996 was awarded $1.5 million in damages for his wrongful imprisonment. The story does not end there, however. Kotler's case turned out to be one of the more bizarre in the annals of forensic DNA testing. Perhaps he did not commit the first rape, but a month after he received the damage award, he was on his way back to prison for the August 1995 rape of another victim. This time prosecutors showed that Kotler's semen matched samples taken from his victim's clothing—and to prove their case, they used DNA testing.

WHERE TO LEARN MORE

Department of Energy Human Genome Program (Web site). <http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis/>.

The DNA Files/National Public Radio (Web site). <http://www.dnafiles.org/>.

Fridell, Ron. DNA Fingerprinting: The Ultimate Identity. New York: Franklin Watts, 2001.

Genetics Education Center, University of Kansas Medical Center (Web site). <http://www.kumc.edu/gec/>.

Henig, Robin Marantz. The Monk in the Garden: The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.

Lerner, K. Lee, and Brenda Wilmoth Lee. World of Genetics. Detroit: Gale Group, 2002.

National Human Genome Research Institute (Web site). <http://www.nhgri.nih.gov>.

Schwartz, Jeffrey H. Sudden Origins: Fossils, Genes, and the Emergence of Species. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1999.

Tudge, Colin. The Impact of the Gene: From Mendel's Peas to Designer Babies. New York: Hill and Wang, 2001.

Virtual Library on Genetics, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Web site). <http://www.ornl.gov/TechResources/Human_Genome/genetics.html>.

KEY TERMS

ACQUIRED CHARACTERISTICS:

Sometimes known as acquired characters or Lamarckism, after one of its leading proponents, the French natural philosopher Jean Baptiste de Lamarck (1744-1829), the theory of acquired characteristics is a fallacy that should not be confused with mutation. Acquired characteristics theory maintains that changes that occur in an organism's overall anatomy (as opposed to changes in its DNA) can be passed on to offspring.

AMINO ACIDS:

Organic compounds made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and (in some cases) sulfur bonded in characteristic formations. Strings of amino acids make up proteins.

BASE PAIR:

A pair of chemicals that form the "rungs" on a DNA molecule, which has the shape of a spiral staircase. A base pair always consists of a type of chemical called a purine on one side and a chemical termed a pyrimidine on the other. This means that DNA base pairs always consist of adenine linked with thymine and guanine with cytosine.

BIOCHEMISTRY:

The area of the biological sciences concerned with the chemical substances and processes in organisms.

BODY CELL:

See somatic cell.

CHROMOSOME:

A DNA-containing body, located in the cells of most living things, that holds most of the organism's genes.

CONGENITAL DISORDER:

An abnormality of structure or function or adisease that is present at birth. Congenital disorders also are called birth defects.

CYTOPLASM:

The material inside a cell that is external to the nucleus.

DIPLOID:

A term for a cell that has the basic number of doubled chromosome cells. In humans, somatic cells, which are diploid cells, have 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46 chromosomes.

DNA:

Deoxyribonucleic acid, a molecule in all cells, and many viruses, that contains genetic codes for inheritance.

DOMINANT:

In genetics, a term for a trait that can manifest in the offspring when inherited from only one parent. Its opposite is recessive.

ENZYME:

A protein material that speeds up chemical reactions in the bodies of plants and animals without itself taking part in or being consumed by those reactions.

FORENSIC SCIENCE:

The application of science to matters of law and legal or police procedure.

GAMETE:

A mature male or female germ cell that possesses a haploid set of chromosomes and is prepared to form a new diploid by undergoing fusion with a haploid gamete of the opposite sex.

GENE:

A unit of information about a particular heritable trait. Usually stored on chromosomes, genes contain specifications for the structure of a particular polypeptide or protein.

GENETIC ENGINEERING:

The alteration of genetic material by direct intervention in genetic processes.

GENETIC FINGERPRINT:

A sample of a person's DNA that is detailed enough to distinguish it from all other people's DNA.

GENETIC RECOMBINATION:

A process whereby chromosome segments from two parents physically exchange places with each other during the process of meiosis. This is one of the ways that mutation occurs.

GENETICS:

The area of biological study concerned with heredity, with hereditary traits passed down from one generation to the next through the genes, and with the variations between organisms that result from heredity.

GENOME:

All of the genetic material in the chromosomes of a particular organism.

GERM CELL:

One of two basic types of cells in a multicellular organism. In contrast to somatic, or body, cells, germ cells are involved in reproduction.

GERMINAL MUTATION:

A mutation that occurs in the germ cells, meaning that the mutation can be passed on to the organism's offspring.

HAPLOID:

A term for a cell that has half the number of chromosome cells that appear in a diploid, or somatic, cell. In humans, germ cells, which are haploidcells, have 23 unpaired chromosomes, as opposed to the 23 paired chromosomes (46 overall) that appear in a somatic cell.

HEREDITY:

The transmission of genetic characteristics from ancestor to descendant through the genes.

HERITABLE:

Capable of being inherited.

MEIOSIS:

The process of cell division that produces haploid genetic material. Compare with mitosis.

MITOSIS:

A process of cell division that produces diploid cells. Compare with meiosis.

MRNA:

Messenger ribonucleic acid, a molecule of RNA that carries the genetic information for producing proteins.

MUTAGEN:

A chemical or physical factor that increases the rate of mutation.

MUTATION:

Alteration in the physical structure of an organism's DNA, resulting in a genetic change that can be inherited.

NATURAL SELECTION:

The process whereby some organisms thrive and others perish, depending on their degree of adaptation to a particular environment.

NUCLEIC ACIDS:

Acids, including DNA and RNA, that are made up of nucleotide chains.

NUCLEOTIDE:

A compound formed from one of several types of sugar joined with a base of purine or pyrimidine (see base pair) and a phosphate group. Nucleotides are the basis for nucleic acids.

NUCLEUS:

The control center of a cell, where DNA is stored.

POLYPEPTIDE:

A group of between 10 and 50 amino acids.

PROTEINS:

Large molecules built from long chains of 50 or more amino acids. Proteins serve the functions of promoting normal growth, repairing damaged tissue, contributing to the body's immune system, and making enzymes.

RECESSIVE:

In genetics, a term for a trait that can manifest in the offspring only if it is inherited from both parents. Its opposite is dominant.

REPRODUCTIVE CELL:

See germ cell.

RNA:

Ribonucleic acid, a molecule translated from DNA in the cell nucleus that directs protein synthesis in the cytoplasm. See also mRNA.

SOMATIC CELL:

One of two basic types of cells in a multicellular organism. In contrast to germ cells, somatic cells (also known as body cells) do not play a part in reproduction; rather, they make up the tissues, organs, and other parts of the organism.

SOMATIC MUTATION:

A mutation that occurs in cells other than the reproductive, or sex, cells. These mutations, as contrasted with germinal mutations, cannot be transmitted to the next generation.

SYNTHESIZE:

To manufacture chemically, as in the body.

TRANSLOCATION:

A mutation in which chromosomes exchange parts.

ZYGOTE:

A diploid cell formed by the fusion of two gametes.