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View synonyms for gene

gene

1

[ jeen ]

noun

  1. the basic physical unit of heredity; a linear sequence of nucleotides along a segment of DNA that provides the coded instructions for synthesis of RNA, which, when translated into protein, leads to the expression of hereditary character.


Gene

2

[ jeen ]

noun

  1. a male given name, form of Eugene.

-gene

1

suffix forming nouns

  1. See -gen
    a variant of -gen


gene

2

/ dʒiːn /

noun

  1. See operon
    a unit of heredity composed of DNA occupying a fixed position on a chromosome (some viral genes are composed of RNA). A gene may determine a characteristic of an individual by specifying a polypeptide chain that forms a protein or part of a protein ( structural gene ); or encode an RNA molecule; or regulate the operation of other genes or repress such operation See also operon

gene

/ jēn /

  1. A segment of DNA, occupying a specific place on a chromosome, that is the basic unit of heredity. Genes act by directing the production of RNA, which determines the synthesis of proteins that make up living matter and are the catalysts of all cellular processes. The proteins that are determined by genetic DNA result in specific physical traits, such as the shape of a plant leaf, the coloration of an animal's coat, or the texture of a person's hair. Different forms of genes, called alleles , determine how these traits are expressed in a given individual. Humans are thought to have 20,000 to 25,000 genes; bacteria have between 500 and 6,000.
  2. See also dominantSee Note at Mendel


gene

  1. A portion of a DNA molecule that serves as the basic unit of heredity . Genes control the characteristics that an offspring will have by transmitting information in the sequence of nucleotides on short sections of DNA.


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Word History and Origins

Origin of gene1

First recorded in 1911; from German Gen (1909), apparently abstracted from -gen -gen ( def ); introduced by Danish geneticist Wilhelm L. Johannsen (1857–1927)

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Word History and Origins

Origin of gene1

C20: from German Gen, shortened from Pangen; see pan- , -gen

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Example Sentences

It got it all out there… Gene Hackman and Douglas… Melvyn Douglas is amazing.

Was the blackface scene with Gene Wilder in Silver Streak an important step in how American audiences view minstrelsy?

Another week, another study declaring the hunt for the ‘gay gene’ over.

Rev. V. Gene Robinson is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Washington, DC.

You see, as far as passing the baton down, Michael used to look at Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and James Brown.

Mass' Gene has gone to his company; we are left alone here to meet them.

Gene steered the car to the cliff side of the road to prevent the peril of a plunge by the horse.

If no one had picked her up en route, he could easily overtake her in the big car, which Gene had now repaired.

"I never saw Gene looking so bad in all his life," observed Witla pére to his wife the day Eugene arrived.

Gene would like that, and talk a lot about going 'from Nature up to Nature's God.'

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