6 Terms
Contributors in Biotechnology
Biotechnology
aflatoxin
Biology; Biotechnology
Toxic compounds, produced by moulds (fungi) of the Aspergillus flavus group, that bind to DNA and prevent replication and transcription. Aflatoxins can cause acute liver damage and cancer. Animals ...
airlift fermenter
Biology; Biotechnology
A cylindrical fermentation vessel in which the cells are mixed by air introduced at the base of the vessel and that rises through the column of culture medium. The cell suspension circulates around ...
albinism
Biology; Biotechnology
Hereditary absence of pigment in an organism. Albino animals have no colour in their skin, hair and eyes. The term is also used for absence of chlorophyll in plants.
allele frequency
Biology; Biotechnology
The number of copies of an allele in a population, expressed as a proportion of the total number of copies of all alleles at a locus in a population.
allosteric enzyme
Biology; Biotechnology
An enzyme that has two structurally distinct forms, one of which is active and the other inactive. Active forms of allosteric enzymes tend to catalyse the initial step in a pathway leading to the ...
allosteric regulation
Biology; Biotechnology
A catalysis-regulating process in which the binding of a small effector molecule to one site on an enzyme affects the activity at another site.
allosteric transition
Biology; Biotechnology
A reversible interaction of a small molecule with a protein molecule, resulting in a change in the shape of the protein and a consequent alteration of the interaction of that protein with a third ...