Glossary

Acentric chromosome
Chromosome with no cetromere is called as acentric chromosome.
Acrocentric chromosome
Chromosome with centromere near one end is called as acrocentric chromosome.
Albuminous seed
Seed with a special food storage tissue (an endosperm) at maturity is called as albuminous seeds.
Allele or allelomorph
An allele or allelomorph is an alternative form of a gene (one member of a pair) that is located at a specific position on a specific chromosome.
Allopolyploid
Allopolyploid is polyploid which contains two or more distinct genome derived from different species.
Allopolyploidy
When individual contains two or more distinct genome derived from different species, it is called as allopolyploidy.
Aneuploidy
The loss or gain of one or few chromosomes as compared to the somatic chromosome number of a species is called as aneuploidy.
Angiosperms
Angiosperms are flowering plants with the seed enclosed in a true fruit.
Anther culture
In anther culture haploid plants are obtained from pollens, by placing anthers on a suitable culture medium.
Artificial seed
Artificial seed is encapsulated plant propagule (somatic embryo / shoot bud) in a suitable matrix, containing substances like nutrients, growth regulators, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and mycorrhizae which will allow and help it to grow into a complete plantlet.
Autopolyploids
Autopolyploids are polyploids which have multiple copies of same genome.
Autopolyploidy
When individual contains multiple copies of same genome it is called as autopolyploidy.
Backcross
Cross of progeny with either of its parents is called as backcross.
Backcross Method
Backcross method is the one whose main objective is to incorporate desired gene, either dominant or recessive, to the highly productive, commercially successful variety which lacks that specific gene.
Backcross breeding
Backcross method of breeding is named as backcross breeding.
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is technique that uses or exploits living organisms, or components of organisms, to manufacture or modify products, to develop microorganisms for specific beneficial uses or to improve plants or animals so that they become more useful to the human being.
Breeder Seed
Breeder seed is the progeny of nucleus seed.
Broad sense Heritability
Ratio of additive variance to the total or phenotypic variance s called as broad sense heritability.
Bulk method
Bulk method is one of the methods which can handle segregating generations, in which F2 and subsequent generations are harvested in bulk to grow the next generation.
Callus
The callus (callus culture) is a mass of highly vacuolated, unorganized cells resulting as a consequence of wounding in plants, and in tissue culture with the use of sophisticated techniques.
Cell
Cell is a basic, structural and functional unit of life of plants and animals.
Cell cycle
Cell cycle is the entire sequence of events happening right from the end of one nuclear division to the start of the next, simply, it is the orderly program of events which happen in the lifetime of a cell.
Cell division
Cell division is a process by which a cell (parent cell) divides into two or more cells (daughter cells). Cell division many times is a small segment of a larger cell cycle.
Centromere
Centromere is a region of DNA / chromosome (which contains highly repetitive DNA), appear mostly near the middle of a chromosome.
Certified Seed
Certified seed is the progeny of foundation seed.
Chromatids
Chromosome has two symmetrical structures at mitotic metaphase, these are called as chromatids.
Chromatin
Basic material of chromosome is called as chromatin.
Chromomeres
Chromomeres are serially aligned, small bead like accumulations of chromatin material that are visible along length of chromosome esp. during leptotene and zygotene stages of meiosis.
Chromonema or Chromonemata
Chromosomes appear as very thin filaments during mitotic prophase, these are called as chromonema or chromonemata, these are chromatids in the early stage of condensation.
chromosome
The DNA of cell is packed into compact units, thread-like structures called chromosomes.
Chromosome number
The chromosome number is the number of chromosomes in each cell of an organism.
Codominance
Sometimes both alleles of a gene in a heterozygote lack the dominant recessive relationship, both alleles contribute to the phenotype of the heterozygote it is called as codominance.
Coleoptile
Coleoptile is protective sheath covering the shoot apex of the embryo in monocotyledonous plants.
Combining ability
Combining ability is the capacity of an individual to transmit superior performance to its offspring.
Composite variety
Composite variety is a variety developed by mixing the seeds of various phenotypically outstanding lines possessing similarities for various characteristics like height, seed size, seed color, maturity etc.
Conservative Replication
Replication in which both strands of the new DNA molecule are newly synthesized strands; both strands of the parental DNA are conserved.
Constitutive heterochromatin
Type of heterochromatin whose DNA is permanently inactive is called as constitutive heterochromatin.
Cotyledon
Cotyledon is the embryonic first leaf of a germinating seed, often stores food materials.
Cross Pollination
Pollination in which pollens are transferred from anthers of one flower to the stigma of flower from another plant with the help of some kind of agency like wind, insects, water is called as cross pollination
Crossing over
Crossing over is a process that produces new combinations of genes by exchanging segments between non-sister chromatids of homologous chromosomes normally reciprocally but sometimes unequally.
Cytokinesis
Cytoplasmic division is called as cytokinesis.