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Chromosome

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Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging

Synonyms

Chromatid; Chromatin; DNA; Gene; Genetic code; Heredity; Nucleic acid; RNA

Definition

Chromosome consists of nucleoprotein that appears as a microscopic threadlike structure inside cell. By arranging into genes, chromosome is responsible for transmitting the hereditary characteristics of the living organism.

Overview

Chromosomes are threadlike microscopic complexes of tightly coiled DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which can be circular or linear in shape. Arranged on the chromosomes are genes which contain genetic information vital for proper cell functions.

The genome is the full set of chromosomes within a cell. Humans have 22 pairs of autosomes, and 2 allosomes (sex chromosomes), making a total of 23 pairs. Paired chromosomes are called homologous chromosomes, with each of the homologous pair inherited from each parent. Homologous chromosomes are similar but not identical, because they carry the same genes at a particular gene location, or locus, but each of the allele may...

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Correspondence to Lok Ting Lau .

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Chung, T., Lam, Y.Y.N., Lau, L.T. (2019). Chromosome. In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_926-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_926-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69892-2

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