gene bank

gene bank

1. a collection of clones containing all the genes of a particular organism, such as E. coli. The bank can be prepared by isolating the DNA from an organism, digesting it with a RESTRICTION ENZYME and cloning the restriction fragments. It can be maintained for many years, to provide a repository of cloned genetic material.
2. a collection of many lines of a particular crop plant, seeds or pollen used as a genetic resource by plant breeders; or of sperm, ova, embryos in the case of animals.
3. a collection of DNA sequences (genetic database) stored at a specific Internet site, such as Genbank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). See also BIOINFORMATICS.

Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005