bacteriaMicrobes of one cell each, with no nucleus. They are found almost everywhere on Earth. Engineered bacteria first made human insulin in 1978.
biotechnologyPutting living things to work to make products. The word was first used in 1919 by Károly Ereky. Its oldest uses are fermented foods such as bread and cheese.
cloneAn organism grown to match another's DNA exactly. Plants raised from cuttings are clones, an ancient practice. Dolly, a sheep born in 1996, was cloned from the cell of an adult ewe, a first for any mammal.
DNAThe molecule whose four bases spell out genes. DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. Its chemistry is the same in every organism, which is why a gene from one species can work in another.
enzymeNature's catalyst: each kind speeds up one reaction. Most enzymes are proteins, and none is used up as it works. Chymosin, the enzyme that curdles milk for cheese, is now mostly made by engineered microbes.
fermentationMicrobes turning sugar into acid, gas or alcohol. Bacteria ferment milk into yogurt, and the gas from yeast makes bread dough rise. Penicillin is made by fermentation in deep tanks.
Show all 36 terms (30 more)
Biotechnology basics, continued
geneA DNA recipe, most often for one protein. People have about 20,000 genes that code for proteins. Genes pass from parents to their young.
genetic engineeringRewriting a living thing's DNA in the lab. It can change a single base, delete a stretch of DNA or add a new one. The first engineered organism was a bacterium, made in 1973.
plasmidA loop of extra DNA that bacteria pass around. It is separate from the cell's chromosome and makes its own copies. A gene spliced into a plasmid is copied along with it.
selective breedingImproving a crop or herd by picking its parents. It is also called artificial selection. It turned a wild grass, teosinte, into corn, and produced dog breeds as different as the Chihuahua and the Great Dane.
vaccineA dose that teaches the body to spot one germ. It often holds a weakened or killed microbe, or only one of its proteins. Some vaccines are made by yeast that has been given a gene from a virus.
yeastA single-celled fungus; it puffs up bread dough. More than 1,500 species are known. Baker's yeast is also used to make human insulin.
Tools of the gene lab 12
bioinformaticsUsing computers to store and compare DNA data. The data sets are large: one human genome is about three billion bases long. Databases let scientists search them.
DNA ligaseAn enzyme that seals two cut ends of DNA together. In a living cell it repairs breaks in DNA. In the lab it is the glue that fixes a new gene into a plasmid.
DNA sequencingWorking out the exact order of bases in DNA. The four bases are written A, T, C and G. The Human Genome Project, which ran from 1990 to 2003, did this for human DNA.
gel electrophoresisSorting DNA pieces by size with an electric field. DNA has a negative charge, so it moves through the gel toward the positive end. Short pieces travel faster and farther than long ones.
gene editingChanging DNA at one chosen spot in a genome. CRISPR is one tool for it. It was adapted from a system that bacteria use to defend themselves against viruses.
host cellThe cell that receives and copies a vector's DNA. The bacterium E. coli, in a harmless strain kept for laboratories, is the usual host. Each time the host divides, the added DNA is copied too.
polymerase chain reactionA way to copy one stretch of DNA millions of times. It is called PCR for short and was invented in 1983. Each cycle of heating and cooling doubles the number of copies.
recombinant DNADNA pieced together from more than one source. It is written rDNA for short. A plasmid that carries a human gene is recombinant DNA.
restriction enzymeAn enzyme that cuts DNA at one set sequence. Bacteria make these enzymes as a defense against the viruses that invade them. In the lab they cut DNA into pieces at known places.
transformationA cell's taking up of DNA from its surroundings. Some bacteria do this in nature. In the lab, cells are treated so that they will take in a plasmid.
transgenic organismA living thing carrying a gene from another species. The moved gene is called a transgene. Bacteria that carry the human insulin gene are transgenic.
vectorA carrier that ferries a chosen gene into a cell. Plasmids are the vectors used most often. Viruses that have been made unable to cause infection are used too.
Biotechnology at work 12
antibioticA bacteria-stopping drug, such as penicillin. Penicillin, discovered in 1928, comes from Penicillium mold. Antibiotics do not work against viruses.
bioethicsThe study of right and wrong in biology and medicine. Cloning, gene therapy and the engineering of human genes are among the subjects it debates.
biofuelFuel made from crops or waste instead of oil. Ethanol and biodiesel are the two most common kinds. Most biofuel is used for transportation.
bioplasticPlastic made from plants in place of petroleum. Polylactic acid, or PLA, starts as fermented plant starch, often from corn. Not every bioplastic breaks down in nature.
bioreactorA tank kept just right for growing cells. Many are stainless steel cylinders. The temperature, the nutrients, the acidity and the oxygen inside are all controlled.
bioremediationCleaning up pollution with microbes or plants. Bacteria, fungi and tiny algae do most of the work. Using plants for the job is called phytoremediation.
biosensorA detector that uses an enzyme or cell as its sensor. The blood glucose meter is a common one. An enzyme, glucose oxidase, reacts with the sugar in a drop of blood.
gene therapyTreating a disorder by adding or fixing a gene. A vector carries the working gene into the cells. The first treatment widely counted as a success began in September 1990.
genetically modified cropA farm plant with DNA altered by engineering. Most are changed to resist insect pests or to tolerate weed killers. Golden rice was engineered to make the building block of vitamin A.
insulinThe blood sugar hormone, now made by microbes. It once came only from the pancreas of pigs and cows. Human insulin is now made mainly by engineered E. coli or yeast.
stem cellA cell that has not yet settled on a job. When it divides it can make more stem cells or cells with a special task. Stem cells in bone marrow replace cell types that the body loses quickly.
tissue cultureRaising cells or tissues on a dish of nutrients. A small piece of a plant can be grown this way into many identical plants, a method called micropropagation.
How this list was compiled: Term list chosen for this site on 2026-10-12. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day against the article on the term in the English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: Biotechnology, Gene, DNA, Cloning, Dolly (sheep), Plasmid, Enzyme, Chymosin, Vaccine, Fermentation, Fermentation in food processing, Penicillin, Genetic engineering, Yeast, Selective breeding, Bacteria, Restriction enzyme, DNA ligase, Recombinant DNA, Vector (molecular biology), Polymerase chain reaction, Gel electrophoresis, DNA sequencing, Human Genome Project, Bioinformatics, Genome editing, CRISPR gene editing, Transgene, Genetic transformation, Molecular cloning, Insulin, Insulin (medication), Genetically modified organism, Antibiotic, Biofuel, Bioremediation, Bioreactor, Tissue culture, Plant tissue culture, Stem cell, Gene therapy, Genetically modified crops, Golden rice, Bioplastic, Polylactic acid, Bioethics and Biosensor. Gene, DNA, cloning, plasmid, enzyme, genetic engineering, recombinant DNA, vector, polymerase chain reaction, electrophoresis, DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, transgenic, genetically modified organism, gene therapy, stem cell, CRISPR, bacteria, restriction enzyme and genome were checked a second time against the Talking Glossary of Genomic and Genetic Terms of the National Human Genome Research Institute (https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary), which also gives the 20,000 protein-coding genes and the three billion bases of the human genome. Ethanol and biodiesel as the two most common biofuels are from Biofuel Basics of the U.S. Department of Energy (https://www.energy.gov/eere/bioenergy/biofuel-basics). What GMO crops are grown in the United States and what most are changed to do are from GMO Crops, Animal Food, and Beyond of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (https://www.fda.gov/food/agricultural-biotechnology/gmo-crops-animal-food-and-beyond). The fact after each meaning is from the same pages. Licence: own work
How it works
This biotechnology vocabulary worksheet lists gene, DNA, clone, plasmid, enzyme, vaccine, fermentation and five more terms beside their meanings in another order. The answer key prints as the last page. Two more sets make three worksheets in all.
Read the full guide
Tools of the gene lab
Set opens on Biotechnology basics. The second set has restriction enzyme, DNA ligase, recombinant DNA, vector, polymerase chain reaction, gel electrophoresis, DNA sequencing, bioinformatics, gene editing, transgenic organism, transformation and host cell.
Biotechnology at work
The third set has insulin, antibiotic, biofuel, bioremediation, bioreactor, tissue culture, stem cell, gene therapy, genetically modified crop, bioplastic, bioethics and biosensor.
Double helix, base pair and replication are on the DNA vocabulary worksheets.
Questions and answers
What are the types of biotechnology?
They are often named by color. Red biotechnology is medical, green is agricultural, white is industrial, blue uses resources from the sea and yellow is food production.
What is the difference between cloning and genetic engineering?
Cloning copies: the new plant or animal has the same DNA as the original. Genetic engineering changes the DNA by adding, removing or altering genes, so the result differs from where it started.
What is the difference between selective breeding and genetic engineering?
Breeding makes many crosses and keeps the offspring that show the wanted trait. Genetic engineering takes one gene straight from one organism and delivers it to another, even an unrelated one, which is much faster.
What does GMO stand for?
Genetically modified organism. In the United States the main GMO crops are soybeans, corn, sugar beets, canola and cotton, and most of what is grown is used as animal food.