integrated pest management (IPM):

the use of combined strategies to combat pests, including chemical, physical, and biological methods of control.

metallothioneins:

protein molecules that bind specifically onto certain metals.

monoclonal antibody:

antibody of a single type produced by a genetically identical group of cells (clone). Usually a fusion of an antibody-producing blood cell and a cancer cell. See hybridoma.

nucleotides:

a compound consisting of a base, a phosphate group, and a sugar. DNA and RNA are linear chains (polymers) of nucleotides.

nucleotide sequence (or base sequence):

the particular arrangement of nucleotides along a strip of DNA. Genes are defined as a particular nucleotide sequence.

nucleus:

part of the cell containing the chromosomes.

oncogenes:

tumor-causing genes associated with cancer.

osmostic pressure:

the pressure that develops when the water solutions on the two sides of a semipermeable membrane have different concentrations of dissolved materials.

periphyton:

a thin layer of algae, bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms found on submerged surfaces in fresh water.

phage:

short for bacteriophage.

plasmid:

a small circle of bacterial DNA, separate from the single bacterial chromosome, and capable of replicating independently. Plasmids are also occasionally found in certain fungi and plants.

polymerase chain reaction (PCR):

a method for making multiple copies of fragments of DNA. It uses a heat-stable DNA polymerase enzyme and cycles of heating and cooling to successively split apart the strands of double-stranded