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clonal

 - 7 dictionary results

clone

  [klohn] noun, verb, cloned, clon⋅ing.
Use clonal in a Sentence
–noun
1. Biology.
a. a cell, cell product, or organism that is genetically identical to the unit or individual from which it was derived.
b. a population of identical units, cells, or individuals that derive from the same ancestral line.
2. a person or thing that duplicates, imitates, or closely resembles another in appearance, function, performance, or style: All the fashion models seemed to be clones of one another.
–verb (used with object)
3. to produce a copy or imitation of.
4. Biology.
a. to cause to grow as a clone.
b. to separate (a batch of cells or cell products) so that each portion produces only its own kind.
–verb (used without object)
5. Biology. to grow as a clone.
Origin:
1900–05; < Gk kln a slip, twig

Related forms:
clonal, adjective
clon⋅al⋅ly, adverb
cloner, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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clone   (klōn)   
n.  

  1. A cell, group of cells, or organism that is descended from and genetically identical to a single common ancestor, such as a bacterial colony whose members arose from a single original cell.

  2. An organism descended asexually from a single ancestor, such as a plant produced by layering or a polyp produced by budding.

  3. A DNA sequence, such as a gene, that is transferred from one organism to another and replicated by genetic engineering techniques.

  4. One that copies or closely resembles another, as in appearance or function: "filled with business-school clones in gray and blue suits" (Michael M. Thomas).

v.   cloned, clon·ing, clones

v.   tr.

  1. To make multiple identical copies of (a DNA sequence).

  2. To create or propagate (an organism) from a clone cell: clone a sheep.

  3. To reproduce or propagate asexually: clone a plant variety.

  4. To produce a copy of; imitate closely: "The look has been cloned into cliché" (Cathleen McGuigan).

v.   intr.
To grow as a clone.

[Greek klōn, twig.]
clon'al (klō'nəl) adj., clon'al·ly adv., clon'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

clone

A living system that is genetically identical to its ancestor (that is, it has exactly the same DNA molecules). Because each cell contains the DNA molecules that characterize an individual, it is, in principle, possible to replicate, or reproduce, complex living systems in the laboratory.

Note: The first cloned mammal, a sheep named Dolly, was born in Scotland in 1996. DNA from an adult donor was placed into an egg, which was then implanted in the uterus of another sheep. Since that time, mice, cows, and pigs have been cloned.
Note: There is a major debate on the ethical aspects (see bioethics) of cloning, especially as applied to human beings. Therapeutic cloning involves the placing of adult DNA in an egg for the express purpose of creating stem cells for medical purposes. Reproductive cloning involves the placement of adult DNA into an egg and the implantation of the egg into a uterus for the purpose of creating a viable fetus.
Note: Clone is often used informally to indicate a close copy or resemblance: “This new computer is a clone of the IBM model.”
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

clone  (n.)
1903, in botany, from Gk. klon "a twig." The verb is first recorded 1959. Extension to genetic duplication of human beings is from 1970.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2clone
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: cloned; clon·ing
transitive senses
: to propagate a clone from cloned by transplanting nuclei from body cells to enucleated eggs> clone intransitive senses
: to produce a clone
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

clone (klōn)
n.

  1. A group of genetically identical cells descended from a single common ancestor, such as a bacterial colony whose members arose from a single original cell as a result of binary fission.

  2. An organism descended asexually from a single ancestor, such as a plant produced by layering or a polyp produced by budding.

  3. A replica of a DNA sequence, such as a gene, produced by genetic engineering.

v. cloned, clon·ing, clones

  1. To make multiple identical copies of a DNA sequence.

  2. To establish and maintain pure lineages of a cell under laboratory conditions.

  3. To reproduce or propagate asexually.

clon'al (klō'nəl) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
clone   (klōn)  Pronunciation Key 
Noun  

  1. A cell, group of cells, or organism that is produced asexually from and is genetically identical to a single ancestor. The cells of an individual plant or animal, except for gametes and some cells of the immune system, are clones because they all descend from a single fertilized cell and are genetically identical. A clone may be produced by fission, in the case of single-celled organisms, by budding, as in the hydra, or in the laboratory by putting the nucleus of a diploid cell into an egg that has had its nucleus removed. Some plants can produce clones from horizontal stems, such as runners. Clones of other cells and some plants and animals can also be produced in a laboratory. See also therapeutic cloning.

  2. A copy of a sequence of DNA, as from a gene, that is produced by genetic engineering. The clone is then transplanted into the nucleus of a cell from which genetic material has been removed.


Verb  

  1. To produce or grow a cell, group of cells, or organism from a single original cell.

  2. To make identical copies of a DNA sequence. See more at genetic engineering.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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