Download annexure vi: terminologies

ANNEXURE VI: TERMINOLOGIES
Abiotic Stress: Environmental stresses, which can reduce the productivity of a crop.
These include weather conditions such as excessive or untimely frosts,
and extended droughts and adverse soil conditions such as high levels of
salt or aluminum.
Agrochemical: A chemical, such as a fertilizer, an herbicide or an insecticide, that
improves the productivity of crops.
Amino Acids: Molecules which, when linked together, form proteins.
Biodiversity:
The number and variety of plants, animals and other organisms that exist
in the natural environment.
Biotic Stress:
Stress resulting from attack by organisms capable of causing disease.
Transgenic Cotton: Genetically modified cotton for the control of budworms &
bollworms.
Bt Crops:
Genetically modified crops to carry the gene from the soil bacterium
Bacillus thuringiensis
Bt Maize:
Genetically modified maize the provide protection against the larvae of
maize pest.
Bt:
The bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis which produces proteins that are
toxic to some insects.
Chromosomes: The thread-like structures in cells that carry DNA, on which genetic
information is arranged.
Centre of Diversity: A centre of diversity would often contain a variety of cultivars and
their wild relatives. Such areas often harbor a wide range of natural
genetic variation for a particular crop.
Disease Resistance: The capacity of a plant, usually determined by one or a few genes,
to suppress or retard the activities of a disease-causing organism.
Crossing:
Cross breeding different varieties of a crop species or, occasionally,
varieties of closely related species.
Gene:
A segment of DNA that either codes for the synthesis of a specific
protein or has a specific regulatory function.
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Gene Flow:
The transfer of genes via pollen to or from a cultivated crop to other
crop plants, wild relatives, other plant species or other organisms.
Genetic Engineering: The manipulation of genes through the use of recombinant DNA
techniques for the purpose of modifying the function of a gene or genes
for a specific purpose.
Genetic Marker: A sequence of DNA with a known location on a chromosome and is
known to be associated with a particular gene or trait. They are also used
as a reference point for mapping other genes.
Genetic Modification: A technology which allows selected individual genes to be
transferred from one organism into another, including genes from
unrelated species. The technology can be used to promote a desirable
crop characteristic or to suppress an undesirable trait.
Genetically Modified Organism (GMO): An organism (plant, animal, bacteria, or
virus) that has had its genetic material altered, through genetic
engineering to perform a new function or produce a new substance.
Genetics:
The study of the process by which traits are transmitted from parent to
offspring; the study of inheritance.
Genome:
An organism's complete set of genes is called genome. It contains all of
the genetic information or hereditary characteristics possessed by an
organism.
Germ-Plasma: Tissue from which new plants can be grown, for example seeds, pollen
or leaves. Even a few cells may be sufficient to culture into a new plant.
Herbicide Tolerance: This allows a plant to tolerate a herbicide that would otherwise
kill it This can be achieved by means of either genetic modification or
conventional plant breeding.
Herbicide:
A substance that kills plants and is used to control weeds. Herbicides
vary in their specificity. Some kill a broad spectrum of plant species,
while others kill only specific species or groups of species.
Living Modified Organism :( LMO, as defined in the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety)
Any living organism that possesses a novel combination of genetic
material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology.
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Intellectual Property: An intangible form of personal property. Copyrights, patents, and
trademarks are examples of intellectual property. Intellectual property
rights enable owner to select who may access and use their property, to
protect it from unauthorized use and to recover income.
Pathogen:
Any microorganism that causes disease or produces a pathological
condition.
Proteins:
Proteins are chemical substances which mediate the form and function
of cells and organisms either by forming part of definite structures or by
acting as biological catalysts in life processes. Proteins are chains of
different amino acids, and the order of amino acids and length of the
chain are unique for each kind of protein.
Recombinant DNA: A DNA that has become joined to another unrelated or foreign
segment of DNA
Tissue Culture: The growth of cells, tissues or organs in a nutrient medium under sterile
conditions.
Transformation: The process by which foreign DNA is transferred and incorporated
into a living cell.
Transgenes:
An isolated gene sequence used to transform an organism. The
transgenes may have been derived from a different species than that of
the recipient.
Transgenic: Containing genes from another species
Vector:
It is used as a vehicle for transfer of foreign genes to get introduced into
and become a part of the host cell, e.g. a bacteriophage, plasmid, or
other agent that transfers genetic material from one cell to another.
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