PDA Technical Glossary
PDA Technical Reports are highly valued membership benefits because they offer expert guidance and opinions on important scientific and regulatory topics and are used as essential references by industry and regulatory authorities around the world. These reports include terms which explain the material and enhance the reader’s understanding.
The database presented here includes the glossary terms from all current technical reports. The database is searchable by keyword, topic, or by technical report. Each definition provided includes a link to the source technical report within the PDA Technical Report Portal.
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Primer
A short synthetic single-stranded nucleic acid complementary to a specific sequence of a target gene, DNA or RNA. It usually serves to initiate the de novo synthesis of nucleic acid from a template. (TR50)
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Reference Strain
A well characterized, widely accepted preparation of viable organisms that is used to validate a microbiological assay. (TR50)
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Reporter Gene
A coding sequence linked to a gene or promoter of interest. It is generally used to determine activation of the promoter or expression of the gene of interest in a cell or organism. (TR50)
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Specificity
The ability of an analytical procedure to accurately measure or detect a target analyte in the presence of other components in the sample matrix. (TR50) The ability to assess unequivocally the analyte in the presence of components that may be expected to be present. Typically these might include impurities, degradants, matrix, etc. Lack of specificity of an individual analytical procedure may be compensated by other supporting analytical procedure(s). (TR57) The ability to detect a range of microorganisms, which demonstrate that the method is fit for its intended use. (TR33)