| complementary DNA library | <molecular biology> A collection of all of the mRNA molecules present in a cell or organism, all turned into cDNA molecules with the enzyme reverse transcriptase, then inserted into vectors (other DNA molecules which can continue to replicate after addition of foreign DNA). The library can then be probed for the specific cDNA (and thus mRNA) of interest. (09 Oct 1997) |
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| complementary hypertrophy | Increase in size or expansion of part of an organ or tissue to fill the space left by the destruction of another portion of the same organ or tissue. (05 Mar 2000) |
| complementary medicine | A nonmainstream health care provided in addition or instead of standard medical practice. See: alternative medicine. (09 Oct 1997) |
| complementary role | A role in which the behaviour pattern conforms with the expectations and demands of other people. (05 Mar 2000) |
| complementary sequence | <molecular biology> Nucleicacid base sequences that can form a double-stranded structure bymatching base pairs, the complementary sequence to G-T-A-C is C-A-T-G. (09 Oct 1997) |
| complementary strand | See: replicative form. (05 Mar 2000) |
| complementary strands | <molecular biology> Two single strands of DNA in which the nucleotide sequence is such that they will bind as a result of base pairing throughout their full length. (05 Jan 1998) |
| complementary structures | Structures that define one another; e.g., the two strands of duplex DNA. (05 Mar 2000) |
| sequence, complementary | Nucleic acid sequence of bases that can form a double- stranded structure by matching base pairs. For example, the complementary sequence to c-a-t-g (where each letter stands for one of the bases in DNA) is g-t-a-c. (12 Dec 1998) |
| DNA, complementary | Single-stranded complementary DNA synthesised from an RNA template by the action of RNA-dependent DNA polymerase. Cdna (i.e., complementary DNA, not circular DNA, not c-DNA) is used in a variety of molecular cloning experiments as well as serving as a specific hybridization probe. (12 Dec 1998) |