MRNA SURVEILLANCE PATHWAY A pathway that recognizes and degrades mRNA molecules that bear nonsense mutations.
ANCHOR CELL A somatic cell in the gonad that induces vulval development in the underlying epidermal cells.
BALANCER CHROMOSOME Balancer chromosomes are used in trans to a chromosome that carries a lethal mutation. Such chromosomes carry deleterious mutations, so that heterozygotes have a selective advantage and are easily maintained. They are used as genetic tools because they allow lethal mutations to be propagated indefinitely. In addition, balancer chromosomes frequently contain rearrangements or translocations that disrupt recombination between the homologues.
FATE MAP The description of the cell divisions from fertilized egg to adult, linked to the eventual anatomical position of the cell in the animal and the differentiated state, or fate, of the cell.
GABA NEURON A neuron that releases the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (
-aminobutyric acid).
M4 MOTOR NEURON A motor neuron in the pharynx that is required for the peristaltic movements of the muscle that move food into the grinder.
OPERON A locus consisting of two or more genes that are transcribed as a unit and are expressed in a coordinated manner.
QUANTITATIVE TRAIT A measurable trait that typically depends on the cumulative action of many genes and the environment. [ok?]
RNA INTERFERENCE (RNAi). A process by which double-stranded RNA silences specifically the expression of homologous genes through degradation of their cognate mRNA. In worms, a gene can be selectively disabled and its phenotype determined simply by feeding wild-type animals double-stranded RNA.
