As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Antigen Definition and Explanation PDF | Download eBooks

Learn Antigen definition in biology with explanation to study “What is Antigen”. Study antigen explanation with biology terms to review biology course for online degree programs.

Antigen Definition:

  • Any substance that elicits a B or T cell response is called an antigen.

    Campbell Biology by J.B. Reece, L.A. Urry, M.L. Cain, S.A. Wasserman, P.V. Minorsky, R.B. Jackson



Antigen Explanation:

The term antigen refers to any molecule or a linear molecular fragment after processing the native antigen that can be recognized by T-cell receptor. Antigens are "targeted" by antibodies. Each antibody is specifically produced by the immune system to match an antigen after cells in the immune system come into contact with it and this allows a precise identification or matching of the antigen and the initiation of a tailored response.

Keep Learning Biology Explanations

What is Intrasexual selection?

A good example of intrasexual selection is when a single male may patrol a group of females and prevent other ...

What is Phospholipid?

This class of lipids is a major component of cell membranes of living things. These are long fatty acid chains ...

What is Benign tumor?

A benign tumor is not a malignant tumor which is basically the harmful one and leads to cancer. In most ...

What are Convergent evolution?

Convergent evolution is the process whereby organisms not closely related (not monophyletic), independently evolve similar traits as a result of ...

What is Guttation?

Guttation is the exudation of drops of xylem sap on the tips or edges of leaves of some vascular plants, ...

What is Reverse transcriptase?

A reverse transcriptase (RT) is an enzyme used to generate complementary DNA (cDNA) from an RNA template, a process termed ...