gene
See also: Gene, gène, gêne, gêné, ĝene, Genė, and -gène
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.[1]
Pronunciation
- enPR: jēn, IPA(key): /d͡ʒiːn/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -iːn
- Homophones: Gene, Jean
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.
- 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.
- A change in a gene is reflected in the protein or RNA molecule that it codes for.
-
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 bank
- gene cassette
- gene complex
- gene drive
- gene expression
- gene family
- gene flow
- gene frequency
- gene gun
- 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
- pangene
Translations
unit of heredity
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See also
- locus
- allele
- dominant
- recessive
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[sic] bekanntem Wort die uns allein interessierende letzte Silbe „Gen“ isoliert zu verwerten, um damit das schlechte, mehrdeutige Wort „Anlage“ zu ersetzen.”
Further reading
gene on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
- Enge
Danish
Etymology
From French gêne.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /sjeːnə/, [ˈɕeːnə]
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.
Inflection
Declension of gene
| common gender | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | gene | genen | gener | generne |
| genitive | genes | genens | geners | genernes |
References
- “gene” in Den Danske Ordbog
Dutch
Pronunciation
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -eːnə
Adjective
gene
- Inflected form of geen
Anagrams
- geen, neeg, nege
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈd͡ʒɛ.ne/
- Rhymes: -ɛne
- Hyphenation: gè‧ne
Etymology 1
From German Gen.
Noun
gene m (plural geni)
- (genetics) gene
Related terms
- genetica
- genetico
- genetista
- genico
- genotipo
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Noun
gene f pl
- plural of gena
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch *gēn, from Proto-Germanic *jainaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɣeːnə/
Determiner
gêne
- that over there, yonder
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
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈʒẽ.ni/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈʒe.ne/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈʒɛ.n(ɨ)/
- Hyphenation: ge‧ne
Noun
gene m (plural genes)
- (genetics) gene
Related terms
- genética
- genético
Further reading
- “gene” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈd͡ʒene]
Noun
gene f
- inflection of genă:
- indefinite plural
- indefinite genitive/dative singular
Noun
gene f
- inflection of geană:
- indefinite plural
- indefinite genitive/dative singular
Spanish
Noun
gene m (plural genes)
- gene
- Synonym: gen
Turkish
Etymology
From Old Turkic *yana (“again”), from Proto-Turkic *yan- (“to return, turn back”).
Cognates:
Cognate withBashkir және (jäne, “йән”);Kyrgyz жана (jana, “again”),Uzbek yana (“again”),Uyghur يەنە (yene, “again”),Turkmen ýene (“again”),
Adverb
gene
- (colloquial) again
- Synonym: yine
Noun
gene
- dative singular of gen