Name

Date

Class

GLOSSARY

A
activation the initiation of transcription by the removal of a repressor protein (205)

B
benign tumor an abnormal but nonthreatening cell mass (211)

C
cancer the uncontrolled growth of cells (211) carcinogen a cancer-causing substance (212) carcinoma a malignant tumor that grows in body tissues (211) cell differentiation the change in morphology, physiology, or function of a cell in relation to its neighboring cells (209)

D
differentiation a process in which the cells of a multicellular individual become specialized during development (209)

E
enhancer a region adjacent to a eukaryotic gene that must be activated if the gene is to be expressed (208) euchromatin the uncoiled form of chromatin (206) exon coding region of a eukaryotic gene (206)

G
gene expression the transcription of DNA into RNA and then into proteins (202) genome the complete genetic material contained in an individual (203) growth factor protein that regulates the rate and sequence of the events of cell division (212)

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Name

Date

Class

GLOSSARY

H
homeobox a specific DNA sequence within a homeotic gene that regulates patterns of development (209) homeotic gene a gene that controls the development of a specific adult structure (209)

I
inducer in the lac operon, the molecule that binds to repressor molecules and induces gene expression (205) intron a section of a structural gene that does not code for an amino acid and is excised before translation (206)

L
lac operon DNA segment that codes for the regulatory enzymes for lactose metabolism in E. coli (203) leukemia a progressive, malignant disease of the blood-forming organs (211) lymphoma a tumor in the tissues that form blood cells (211)

M
malignant tumor a cancerous mass of cells (211) metastasis the spread of cancer cells beyond their original site (211) morphogenesis the change in form of an organism resulting from cell differentiation (209) mutagen an environmental factor that damages DNA (212)

O
oncogene a gene that induces cancer or other uncontrolled cell proliferation; a mutated or activated proto-oncogene that is associated with the development of tumor cells (213) operator a sequence of DNA to which a repressor binds to prevent mRNA synthesis from the adjacent gene; characteristically composed of one or more palindromic sequences (204)

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Name

Date

Class

GLOSSARY

operon a unit of DNA common in bacteria and phages consisting of clusters of regulated genes (204)

P
pre-mRNA a form of mRNA that contains introns and exons (207) proto-oncogene oncogene precursor that controls a cells growth and differentiation (214)

R
regulator gene a genetic unit that regulates or suppresses the activity of one or more structural genes (205) repression the blockage of transcription by the action of a repressor protein (205) repressor (repressor protein) in the lac operon, a protein that inhibits an operator and thus stops gene expression (205)

S
sarcoma a tumor growing in bone or muscle tissue (211) structural gene a gene that codes for a product, such as an enzyme, protein, or RNA, rather than serving as a regulator (204)

T
transcription factor one of the additional proteins bound to enhancers and RNA polymerase that regulate transcription (208) tumor an abnormal mass of cells (211) tumor-suppressor gene a gene that suppresses tumor formation but when mutated causes a loss in cell function, resulting in tumor formation (213)

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