Thousands of nucleotides are linked to form a DNA or RNA molecule. The cellular organelle in eukaryotes that contains the genetic material. A gene, one or more forms of which is associated with cancer. Many oncogenes are involved, directly or indirectly, in controlling the rate of cell growth. A virus for which the natural host is a bacterial cell.
Distance is measured in base pairs.
Plasmid Autonomously replicating, extrachromosomal circular DNA molecules, distinct from the normal bacterial genome and nonessential for cell survival under nonselective conditions. Some plasmids are capable of integrating into the host genome. A number of artificially constructed plasmids are used as cloning vectors. Compare single-gene disorders. Because the newly synthesized DNA strands can subsequently serve as additional templates for the same primer sequences, successive rounds of primer annealing, strand elongation, and dissociation produce rapid and highly specific amplification of the desired sequence.