ALIQUOT |
A
fraction of a sample with a specific volume. Example: The 20 ml
sample was divided into four 5 ml aliquots |
ANTIBIOTIC
RESISTANCE |
The
ability of a particular strain or group of bacteria to prevent an
antibiotic from adversely affecting the bacteria |
APOPTOSIS |
The
process of a cell committing suicide |
BACTERIAL
SPECK DISEASE |
A
plant disease caused by infection of the plant by bacteria |
BIOINFORMATICS |
The use of computer science, statistics, and information science to gain new understanding of biological systems. Bioinformatics is especially useful for the organization and interpretation of genome sequence data. |
BLAST |
Basic
Local Alignment Search Tool. This is a program that allows users
to rapidly search protein and nucleotide databases for regions similar
to your sequence of interest. |
BUBONIC
PLAGUE |
A
disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia
pestis. Symptoms include fever, delerium, swollen
lymph nodes and black spots on the skin |
CONJUGATION |
The
process by which two bacteria in close proximity exchange a piece
of DNA through a hollow tube-like structure called a PILUS.
This is also called bacterial mating |
DDBJ |
DNA
Data Bank of Japan. A public genetic sequence database is maintained
at this site |
DILUENT |
Any
liquid used to dilute a solution |
EFFECTOR
PROTEINS |
Proteins that are injected
by bacteria into the cells they are attacking through the TYPE
III SECRETION SYSTEM. EFFECTOR
PROTEINS are very diverse and help the bacteria cause
disease in the plant. |
EMBL-EBI |
European
Molecular Biology Laboratory-European Bioinformatics Institute.
A public genetic sequence database is maintained at this site |
EXPOSURE |
Probability
and/or amount of contact between the hazard and the thing it harms |
GENBANK |
See
NCBI Genbank |
GENOMICS |
The
study of the genetic content of an organism |
GMO |
Abbreviation
for GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM.
Although virtually all agriculturally raised plants and animals
have been genetically modified by traditional breeding, the term
GMO is generally reserved for
those that have had foreign genes inserted by molecular biological
techniques |
HAZARD |
Inherent
ability of a substance or activity to cause harm |
HORIZONTAL
GENE TRANSFER (HGT) |
The
transfer of genetic information between different species |
HYPERSENSITIVE
RESPONSE (HR) |
Suicide,
or APOPTOSIS, of infected cells,
which is stimulated by the recognition of EFFECTOR
PROTEINS by RESISTANCE PROTEINS,
in order to stop the spreading of a pathogen. |
HYPOTHESIS |
A testable explanation for a set of observations. See also NULL HYPOTHESIS and SCIENTIFIC METHOD |
MODEL
SYSTEM |
A
particular organism that is studied in great detail as a representative
of other organisms that are like it |
NCBI
GENBANK |
A
public genetic sequence database maintained by the National Center
for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) |
NULL HYPOTHESIS |
The hypothesis that there is no relationship between the variables being tested. For example, if you are testing the HYPOTHESIS that EFFECTOR proteins are required for disease development, the NULL HYPOTHESIS would be that effector proteins are not required for disease development |
PATHOVAR |
A
subset of a species of bacteria identified by the plant it can infect.
It is abbreviate pv. Example: P. syringae pv. tomato
infects tomato plants, while P. syringae pv. tabaci
infects tobacco and P. syringae pv. phaseolicola infects
bean plants. |
PCR |
PCR
is an abbreviation for POLYMERASE CHAIN
REACTION, a molecular biology technique for amplifying
(or copying) a piece of DNA many times in the lab. |
PILUS |
A
tube of protein that bacteria use in CONJUGATION
to exchange genetic material. |
PLANT
PATHOGEN |
An
organism (generally a bacterium, virus or fungus) that causes disease
in plants |
PSEUDOMONAS
SYRINGAE |
A
bacteria that is a plant pathogen of economic importance. It causes
bacterial speck disease on plants. |
PUBMED |
An
online database of scientific literature provided by the National
Library of Medicine |
RECOMBINATION |
The
combining and rearrangement of DNA. Often occurs during mating |
RESISTANCE
PROTEINS |
Proteins
made by a plant cell that recognize specific bacterial EFFECTOR
PROTEINS. Recognition of EFFECTOR
PROTEINS by the resistance proteins triggers APOPTOSIS
in the plant cell |
RESISTANT |
A
plant which CANNOT be infected by a given pathogen |
RISK |
Potential
harm as determined by the degree of the HAZARD
and the amount of EXPOSURE |
SCIENTIFIC METHOD |
The process of discovery used by scientists and involving: (1) the development of a HYPOTHESIS based on observations, (2) testing of the hypothesis, and (3) determination of whether the results support the stated hypothesis. See also NULL HYPOTHESIS |
SERIAL
DILUTIONS |
A
method of making a set, or series, of dilutions wherein a previous
dilution is used as the starting point for making the next dilution |
STOMATES |
Tiny
pores in a leaf through which gases and water enter or leave. They
can also be an entry point for pathogens |
SUSCEPTIBLE |
A
plant which CAN be infected by a given pathogen |
TRANSDUCTION |
The
transfer of DNA to bacteria by a virus |
TRANSFORMATION |
The
process by which bacteria picks up a piece of DNA from its surroundings
that is left over after another cell has died |
TYPE
III SECRETION SYSTEM |
A
highly specialized apparatus used to inject EFFECTOR
PROTEINS. The type III secretion system works like a
syringe to inject effectors directly into the target cell |
UBIQUITOUS |
A
descriptive word that describes something that is everywhere |
VIRULENCE
PROTEINS |
Pathogen
proteins that play a role in disease. Effectors are one example
of bacterial virulence proteins |
YERSINIA
PESTIS |
A
pathogenic bacteria that causes the bubonic plague in humans |