Acronyms and Initialisms


Bioinformatics and biotech is beset with alphabet soup. Here follows a glossary of common examples. (If you find one that is not listed but seems in common use, please let us know some details about it.)
cDNAComplementary DNA
DNADeoxyribonucleicacid
FSAFinite state automaton (CS)
HMMHidden Markov model
MALDIMatrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization
mRNAMessenger RNA
ORFOpen reading frame
PCRPolymerase Chain Reaction
RFLP Restriction fragment length polymorphism
RNA Ribonucleic Acid
SNPSingle nucleotide polymorphism
snRNPSmall nuclear ribonucleoproteins
TOFTime of flight (mass spectrometry)
YACYeast artificial chromosome