CARTA Glossary

Breeding between isolated populations.

Alternative DNA sequence at the same locus (location on the chromosome)

An archaeological site in Spain with fossils and stone tools of the earliest known hominins in Western Europe.

Discrete strands of tightly packaged chromatin.

Time since common ancestor.

A sequence of three nucleotides along a DNA or RNA chain encoding a single amino acid, and start or stop.

Locus where a cytosine nucleotide is followed by guanine nucleotide in the linear sequence of bases. Cytosines in CpG dinucleotides can be methylated to form 5-methyl cytosine, a common epigenetic mark.

Study of population size over time.

The molecule of inheritance, which consists of sequences of the four nucleotide bases: Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine.

Change in genetic content or phenotype between isolated populations or species.

Short region of DNA that can be bound by proteins to alter transcription of a gene.

Molecular modifications of the DNA and its associated histone proteins, affecting its function.

Replaced all other alleles in a population.

A DNA sequence which encodes a specific function.

Alterations of gene expression/activity.

The totality of DNA in a cell. Also refers to the DNA sequence that typifies an individual or species.

The two alleles at one or more diploid loci.

A set of alleles along neighboring positions on a chromosome that are inherited together.

Chief protein components of chromatin and can be chemically modified as part of epigenetics.

An extinct hominin species with fossil evidence from at least 1.9 million years to 70 thousand years ago and found from Africa to Indonesia. H. erectus may have been the first hominin to leave Africa. H. erectus DNA may be retrievable from other species due to archaic admixture.

Similarity in DNA sequence or phenotype that has evolved independently.

An insertion or deletion of a DNA sequence.

Sequences between eons, don't encode proteins

Non-random inheritance of alleles at different loci (due to low recombination).

A single-stranded non-coding RNA that silences RNA and is involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression.

The shape or form (outward appearance) of an organism. The branch of biology interested in the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features.

An extinct Eurasian hominin species that existed from 500-30 kya and interbred with ancient humans and Denisovans.

Historical relationships of species or loci.

The “many forms,” or genetic variants, of a single gene that exist and are maintained in a population at a frequency of 1% or higher.

Alter mature protein.

Exchanges between chromosomes that causes independent inheritance of alleles.

Allele frequency change over time caused by the different replication rate of specific alleles.

Sequencing cuts the genome into short chunks that are read and reassembled by a computer.

A population whose individuals can mate with one another to produce viable and fertile offspring. This is a debated definition and the concept is problematic for extinct fossil organisms for which DNA is not available. This definition is problematic in regard to bacteria as they can exchange genetic material across widely separate taxa.

The first step in gene expression during which the nucleotide sequence of DNA is transcribed into an RNA molecule that can ultimately be translated into protein.

The process by which RNA sequences are translated to amino acid sequences during protein synthesis.

DNA that differs among groups studied.