gene
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See also: Appendix:Variations of "gene"
English
Etymology
From German Gen, from Ancient Greek γενεά (geneá, “generation, descent”), from the aorist infinitive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “I come into being”). Coined by the Danish biologist Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen in a German-language publication, from the last syllable of pangene.
Pronunciation
Noun
gene (plural genes)
- (genetics) A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms; a gene may take several values and in principle predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color.
- Coordinate term: cistron
- 2013 June 21, Karen McVeigh, “US rules human genes can't be patented”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 10:
- The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.
- (molecular biology) A segment of DNA or RNA from a cell's or an organism's genome, that may take several forms and thus parameterizes a phenomenon, in general the structure of a protein; locus.
- A change in a gene is reflected in the protein or RNA molecule that it codes for.
- 2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Black Swan (2020), page 7:
- A length of DNA is divided into segments called chromosomes and shorter individual units called genes.
Usage notes
In the simplest case and in principle, a gene locus is supposed to be the physical reality corresponding to the theoretical gene unit of heredity; in practice, things are far more complicated and confused, which is well known and acknowledged. However, these questions are the subject of still very active scientific research, as well as the topic of both scientific and philosophical questions, especially on the real compatibility between both senses of the term.
Derived terms
- control gene
- cream gene
- gene-altered
- gene bank
- gene cassette
- gene complex
- gene drive
- gene-engineered
- gene expression
- gene family
- gene flow
- gene frequency
- gene gun
- gene-manipulated
- gene-modified
- gene-napper
- gene pool
- gene product
- gene silencing
- gene-splicing
- gene splicing
- gene therapy
- genetic
- geneticist
- genetics
- gene transcription
- gene transfer
- gene trap
- genome
- genotype
- histocompatibility gene
- homeobox gene
- horizontal gene transfer
- hox gene
- jumping gene
- lateral gene transfer
- lethal gene
- marker gene
- oligogene
- pseudogene
- selfish gene
- suicide gene
- toll gene
- X-linked gene
Related terms
Translations
unit of heredity
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See also
References
- ^ Wilhelm Ludvig Johannsen (1909) Elemente der exakten Erblichkeitslehre [Elements of exact heredity] (in German), Jena: Gustav Fischer, page 124: “Darum scheint es am einfachsten, aus Darwin's bekanntem Wort die uns allein interessierende letzte Silbe „Gen“ isoliert zu verwerten, um damit das schlechte, mehrdeutige Wort „Anlage“ zu ersetzen.”
Further reading
Anagrams
Danish
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
gene c (singular definite genen, plural indefinite gener)
- inconvenience, nuisance (something that bothers)
- Røgen fra skorstenen er til gene for naboerne.
- The smoke from the chimney is bothering the neighbours.
Declension
Declension of gene
References
- “gene” in Den Danske Ordbog
Dutch
Pronunciation
Adjective
gene
- inflection of geen:
Anagrams
Italian
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Noun
gene m (plural geni)
Related terms
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Noun
gene f pl
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch *gēn, from Proto-Germanic *jainaz.
Pronunciation
Determiner
gêne
Descendants
- Dutch: geen
Further reading
- “ghene (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
- Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “gene”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: ge‧ne
Noun
gene m (plural genes)
Related terms
Further reading
Romanian
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Noun
gene f
- inflection of genă (“gene”):
Etymology 2
Noun
gene f
- inflection of geană (“eyelash”):
Spanish
Noun
gene m (plural genes)
Turkish
Etymology
From Old Turkic *yana (“again”), from Proto-Turkic *yan- (“to return, turn back”).
Cognates:
Adverb
gene
- (colloquial) again
- Synonym: yine
Noun
gene