Topic outline of genetics

Genetics is the study of how living things receive common traits from previous generations. These traits are described by the genetic information carried by a molecule called DNA. The instructions for constructing and operating an organism are contained in the organism's DNA. Every living thing on earth has DNA in its cells. Genes are the hereditary components of DNA that occupy spots on chromosomes and determine characteristics in an organism. Genes are passed on from parent to child and are an important part of what determines physical appearance and behavior. Genes also determine what traits a whole family (such as the grandfather, great grandfather, etc.), will have, because genes are passed down in chromosomes from generation to generation.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to genetics:

Essence of genetics

• Chromosome
  
• DNA
• Genetic variation
• Heredity

Branches of genetics

• Behavioural genetics
  
• Classical genetics
• Conservation genetics
• Ecological genetics
• Evolutionary genetics
• Genetic engineering
• Metagenics
• Genetics of intelligence
  
• Genomics
• Human genetics
  
  • Human evolutionary genetics
  • Human mitochondrial genetics
• Medical genetics
  
• Microbial genetics
• Molecular genetics
• Population genetics
• Psychiatric genetics
• Quantitative genetics

History of genetics

• Ancient Concepts of Heredity
  
• History of plant systematics
• Experiments on Plant Hybridization
• History of genomics

Basic genetics concepts

adenine - adenosine deaminase deficiency (ADA) - adenovirus - Alagille syndrome - allele - amino acids - animal model - antibody - antisense - apoptosis - ataxia-telangiectasia - Autoimmune Lymphoproliferative syndrome (ALPS) - autosomal dominant - autosome -

bacteria - bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) - base pair - birth defect - bone marrow transplantation - BRCA1/BRCA2 -

cancer - candidate gene - carcinoma - carrier - cDNA library - cell - centimorgan - centromere - chromosome - cloning - codon - Congenital disorder - contig - craniosynostosis - cystic fibrosis - cytogenetic map - cytosine -

deletion - deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) - diabetes mellitus - diploid - DNA replication - DNA sequencing - dominant - double helix - duplication -

electrophoresis - Ellis - van Creveld syndrome - enzyme - exon -

familial Mediterranean fever - fibroblasts - fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) - Fragile X syndrome -

gene - gene amplification - gene expression - gene library - gene mapping - gene pool - gene therapy - gene transfer - genetic code (ATGC) - genetic counseling - genetic linkage - genetic map - genetic marker - genetic screening - genome - genotype - germ line - guanine -

haploid - haploinsufficiency - hematopoietic stem cell - hemophilia - heterozygous - highly conserved sequence - Hirschsprung's disease - holoprosencephaly - homologous recombination - homozygous - human artificial chromosome (HAC) - Human Genome Project - human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) - Huntington's disease - hybridization -

immunotherapy - in situ hybridization - inherited - insertion - intellectual property rights - intron -

Jurassic Park (genetics of) -

karyotype - knockout -

leukemia - locus - LOD score - lymphocyte -

malformation - mapping - marker - melanoma - Mendel, Johann (Gregor) - Mendelian inheritance - messenger RNA (mRNA) - metaphase - microarray technology - microsatellite - mitochondrial DNA - monosomy - mouse model - multiple endocrine neoplasia, type 1 (MEN1) - mutation -

neurofibromatosis - Niemann-Pick disease, type C (NPC) - non-coding DNA - non-directiveness - nonsense mutation - Northern blot - nucleotide - nucleus -

oligo - oncogene - oncovirus -

p53 - Parkinson's disease - patent - pedigree - peptide - phenotype - physical map - polydactyly - polymerase chain reaction (PCR) - polymorphism - positional cloning - primary immunodeficiency - primer - probe - promoter - pronucleus - prostate cancer - protease - protein - pseudogene -

recessive - recombinant DNA - repressor - restriction enzymes - restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) - retrovirus - ribonucleic acid (RNA) - ribosome - risk communication -

sequence-tagged site (STS) - severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) - sex chromosome - sex-linked - shotgun sequencing - sickle cell disease - single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) - somatic cells - Southern blot - spectral karyotype (SKY) - substitution - suicide gene - syndrome -

technology transfer - thymine - transgenic - translocation - trisomy - tumor suppressor gene -

uracil -

vector -

Western blot - Wolfram syndrome -

yeast artificial chromosome (YAC)

Geneticists

Classical geneticists

• Gregor Mendel
  
• Hugo de Vries
• William Bateson
• Thomas Hunt Morgan
• Alfred Sturtevant
• Ronald Fisher
• Frederick Griffith
• Jean Brachet
• Edward Lawrie TatumGeorge Wells Beadle

DNA era geneticists

• Oswald Theodore Avery
  
• Colin McLeod
• Erwin Chargaff
• Barbara McClintock
• James Watson
• Francis Crick

Genomics era geneticists

• Walter Fiers
• Frederick Sanger
• Kary Banks Mullis
• Francis Collins
• Lap-Chee Tsui