Glossary

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Gene

Carrier of genetic information

The term gene normally refers to an identifiable section of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). In the traditional sense it means a “unit of heredity”, which occurs at a specific position on a chromosome (the gene locus). A gene can occur in different forms, known as alleles. The form of a trait may be controlled by several genes, or one gene may influence different traits.

Humans have around 30,000 – 40,000 genes, all of which are found in the nucleus of each individual body cell. However, only those genes needed in the cell in question are active.

Genes contain coded information to produce RNA (ribonucleic acid). This may be in the form of messenger RNA (mRna), which transports the blueprint for one or more proteins to the ribosomes, or other forms of RNA which perform different cell functions such as gene regulation.