| gene families | Groups of closely related genes that makesimilar products. (09 Oct 1997) |
|---|---|
| gene family | <molecular biology> A set of genes coding for diverse proteins which, by virtue of their high degree of sequence similarity, are believed to have evolved from a single ancestral gene. An example is the immunoglobulin family where the characteristic features of the constant domains are found in various cell surface receptors. (18 Nov 1997) |
| gene flow | The movement of genes from one population to another viainterbreeding. (09 Oct 1997) |
| gene frequency | The relative occurence (expressed as a percentage) of a gene in a given population. (09 Oct 1997) |
| gene fusion | Fusion of structural genes to analyze protein behaviour or fusion of regulatory sequences with structural genes to determine mechanisms of regulation. (12 Dec 1998) |
| gene insertion | The addition of one or more genesinto a genome from an externalsource. (09 Oct 1997) |
| gene isolation | A condition caused by a pair of alleles that, when present in the heterozygous form, inhibit the fertility of the organism that possessesthem. (09 Oct 1997) |
| gene library | <molecular biology> A collection of cloned DNA fragments that contains all the genetic information of a particular organism. (09 Oct 1997) |
| gene machine | A computerised device for synthesizing genes by combining nucleotides (bases) in a specified order. (14 Nov 1997) |
| gene mapping | Determination of the relative positions of genes on a DNA molecule (chromosome or plasmid) and of the distance, in linkage units or physical units, between them. (09 Oct 1997) |
| gene markers | Detectable genetic traits or distinctive segments of DNA that serve as landmarks for a target gene. Markers are on the same chromosome as the target gene. They must be near enough to the target gene to be genetically linked to it: to be inherited usually together with that gene, and so serve as signposts to it. (12 Dec 1998) |
| gene mosaicism | <genetics> Descriptive of an organism that consists of two or more genetically distinct cell lines. (14 Nov 1997) |
| gene pool | The total sum of genetic information present in a population at anygiven moment. (09 Oct 1997) |
| gene probe | A biomolecule that islabelled with radioactive isotopes or with a fluorescent marker that selectively binds to a specific gene so it can be isolated or identified. (09 Oct 1997) |
| gene product | The biochemical material, either RNA or protein, resulting from expression of a gene. The amount of gene product is used to measure how active a gene is, abnormal amounts can be correlated with disease-causing alleles. (09 Oct 1997) |