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Genetics & Biotechnology vocabulary · DNA, Genes and Chromosomes

Chromosome

Meaning in genetics & biotechnology, with examples

/ˈkroʊməˌsoʊm/nounCore term

In genetics & biotechnology, chromosome means: A long, tightly packed structure of DNA and proteins inside the cell nucleus. Humans normally have 46 chromosomes, arranged in 23 pairs.

In Turkish: kromozom

How it is used

Used in cytogenetics, inheritance and genome analysis. Human chromosomes are numbered 1 to 22, plus the sex chromosomes X and Y. People describe locations such as 'on chromosome 17' or 'the short arm of chromosome 5'. A karyotype shows a person's full set of chromosomes.

Example sentences

  1. Down syndrome is caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

  2. The gene is located on the long arm of chromosome 7.

Common collocations

  • sex chromosome
  • extra chromosome
  • on chromosome 7
  • chromosome number
  • chromosomal abnormality
  • DNADeoxyribonucleic acid: the long, double-stranded molecule that stores the genetic instructions of almost all living things, written in four chemical bases: A, T, G and C.
  • genomeThe complete set of DNA in an organism or cell, including all of its genes and the DNA between them.
  • geneA section of DNA that carries the instructions for making a protein or a functional RNA molecule; it is the basic unit of heredity passed from parents to children.
  • locusA specific position on a chromosome where a particular gene or DNA sequence is found. The plural is loci.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: DNA, Genes and Chromosomes

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