Biotechnology

Biotechnology

Contributors in Biotechnology

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 ...