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Home >> Dictionary of Bioinformatics, Biochemistry, Biotechnology >> Microtubule associated Proteins (MAPs) - Mismatch Repair
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Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs)
A large class of proteins that stabilize microtubules by binding to tubulin subunits. MAPs also accelerate the polymerisation of microtubules and help in the attachment of microtubules to other proteins and cellular structures such as the centromeres.
Microtubule organising centre (MTOC)
An amorphous mass to which microtubules are attached in the cytosol of interphase cells. The MTOC functions as a nucleation centre for the polymerisation of microtubules.
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Microtubules Thin, tubular, globular proteins that have multiple functions in eukaryotic cells. They also occur in cilia, flagella and the centrioles. The consist of dimers of tubulin. Interphase microtubules are reorganised into spindle fibres at mitosis and are responsible for chromosome movement.
Microvillus (pl. Microvilli)
Thin membrane-covered projections present on the absorptive surface of intestinal epithelial cells.
Middleware
Software that functions as a translation layer in distributed systems operating of different platforms.
Midnight zone
The region of sequence identity where sequence comparisons fail completely to detect structural similarity.
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Mid-parent value
In quantitative genetics, the average of the phenotypes of two mates.
Migration
The force that changes the frequencies of alleles by importing and exporting individuals from a population.
Migration-inhibitory factor (MIF)
A factor(s) produced by certain T cells following stimulation by an antigen that inhibits the chemotactic response in macrophages.
Mil
The oncogene of the chicken sarcoma virus that encodes a serine kinase.
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Milli (m)
SI prefix, 10-3
Millicurie (mCi)
Ci × 10-3
Milligram
0.001 or 10-3 grams.
Milstein Cesar
(1927-2002) The scientist who together with Kohler developed hybridoma technology to produce monoclonal antibodies by fusing mouse-spleen lymphocytes with myeloma cells. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1984 for this work.
MIM number
A unique 6-digit number assigned to each entry listed in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, the catalogue of human genes and genetic disorders. The first digit of a MIM number describes the mode of inheritance of the gene.
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MIME
Multiple Internet Mali Extensions. One of many conventions for converting binary and other files into ASCII for transmission by email. See UUE.
Mimetics
Compounds that mimic the function of other molecules by virtue of their high degree of structural (conformational) similarity, and therefore physiochemical properties.
Mineralisation
Bone formation. This is governed by osteoblasts.
Mineralocorticoids
Steroid hormones containing 21 carbon atoms primarily involved in the maintenance of Na+-K+ homeostasis. The predominant mineralocorticoid is aldosterone, produced by the zona glomerulosa.
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Minerals Nutritionally essential inorganic elements.
Minicell
An anucleate E.coli cell generated by a cell division that produces a cytoplasm devoid of a nucleus.
Minichromosome
Nucleosomal form of viral circular DNA in SV40 or polyoma.
Minimal (core) promoter elements
Promoter elements required for initiation including the TATA box and the initiator (INR) element.
Minimal lethal dose
The minimum dose of a lethal agent sufficient to cause 100% mortality when administered to test animals.
Minimal medium
A bacterial medium containing minimal requirements to support bacterial growth such as inorganic salts, inorganic nitrogen and a simple sugar. It is used for the detection of mutants unable to synthesise an essential biomolecule such as an amino acid.
MiniMuduction
Deleted derivatives of the bacteriophage Mu which function as specialised transducing phages unlike wild type bacteriophage Mu that functions as a general transducing phage that does not exhibit target site preference.
Minimum effective cell density
The inoculum density below which the culture fails to give reproducible cell growth. Minimum density is a function of the tissue and the culture phase of the inoculum suspension. It decreases inversely with the aggregate size and division rate of the stock culture.
Minimum inoculum size
The critical volume of inoculum that is needed to initiate culture growth, because of the diffusive loss of cell materials into the medium. Subsequent growth of the culture is dependent on the inoculum size, which is determined by the volume of medium and size of the culture vessel.
Miniprep
A small preparation of plasmid or phage DNA. This is used for the analysis of DNA in a cloning vector after a cloning experiment.
Minisatellite variant repeat (MVR) mapping
A technique used in DNA profiling in which the length as well as the sequence variation of minisatellite is analysed.
Minisatellites
Noncoding repetitive sequences of 9-30bp found in the telomeric regions. Polymorphisms in the minisatellite loci termed variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) are useful in DNA typing by a technique developed by Jeffreys et al called DNA fingerprinting. They can be detected by Southern blotting or by PCR amplification.
Minor histocompatibility antigens
Antigens encoded outside the MHC that do not generate rapid graft rejection or primary responses of T cells in vitro.
Minus end
The end of an actin filament or microtubule at which the addition of monomers occurs slowly.
Mirror
Identical websites that are hosted on different computers so that the data may be accessed more quickly by users in specific countries.
Mirror repeat
An inverted sequence occurring within an individual strand of DNA. Mirror repeats lack complementary sequences within in the same strand and do not form hairpin or cruciform structures.
Mismatch The lack of base pairing between one or more nucleotides of two hybridised nucleic acid strands. A base pair in a nucleic acid that cannot form normal Watson-Crick pairs.
Mismatch repair
A DNA repair system that corrects mismatched nucleotides that are inserted during replication. A short stretch of nucleotides which includes the mismatched nucleotide is excised and replaced with the correct sequence.
Missense mutation
A mutation that changes a codon for one amino acid to a codon specifying another amino acid.
Mithramycin
A drug useful in the treatment of hypercalcaemia of malignancy. The drug inhibits the mobilisation of calcium from bone.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
A circular ring of DNA present in mitochondria. In mammals, mtDNA accounts for less than 1% of the total cellular DNA, whereas in plants, the amount is variable. mtDNA encodes ribosomal RNA and transfer RNA, but only some mitochondrial proteins (up to 30 proteins in animals). The nuclear DNA encodes most of the mitochondrial proteins. The mtDNA occurs in small clusters called nucleoids or chondriolites. mtDNA is a double-stranded, circular genome of approximately 16.5kb that encodes 13 OXPHOS subunits, 22 tRNAs, and 2rRNAs. A high proportion of mtDNA molecules in a metabolically active cell contain a triple stranded structure called the displacement loop (D-loop), which comprises some of the replication and transcription origins of mt-genomes. In human beings, the D-loop extension is 1122 bp.
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