jumping gene
1
7.7
- noun
- /ˈdʒʌmpɪŋ dʒiːn/
- Specialized
:
gen saltarín
- So jumping genes, as we heard about earlier, this particular jumping gene was absent in time points A&B and present in time points C&D.
Examples
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In his work detecting genetic diversity, Richards is using DNA-based markers called "retrotransposons," or "jumping genes."
Academic text (2005) -
"This is the way we proved that a jumping gene was in glossy-15," Sisco says.
Academic text (1994) -
This color change also involved a third gene, which apparently activated the jumping gene.
Academic text (1994) -
Today, one of the most important biotech tools Baker and co-researchers have at their command is jumping genes.
Academic text (1995) -
The different-colored kernels were produced by the color gene that did the work; a controlling element, or jumping gene, that told the color gene what to do; and an activator that started the work.
Academic text (1994) -
When transposons, or "jumping genes," bundle other resistance genes into a plasmid, the recipient microbe becomes equipped with multiple resistances.
Academic text (2000) -
PHOTO (COLOR): Chromosomal breaks: Plant geneticist Barbara McClintock first recognized jumping gene activity in oddly colored corn kernels like these.
Academic text (1994) -
PHOTO (COLOR): The discoverer: Technician William Brown, who spotted mutant corn plants with the glossy-15 gene in a research field, looks here for evidence of other jumping gene mutations.
Academic text (1994) -
Scientists have discovered that jumping genes can cause significant changes in genetic traits over generations.
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The presence of jumping genes in certain bacteria contributes to their ability to survive antibiotic treatments.
Synonyms
2
9.9
A piece of DNA that moves to new places in a cell and can change genes
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase plainly combines 'jumping' (moving) and 'gene' (a DNA segment), so a learner who knows both words can infer it means a gene that moves or changes position. However, the full technical sense — a transposable element that moves within a genome — is domain-specific and relies on biological knowledge, so the relation is only partly predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Jumping gene comes from a strong picture: scientists watched cells and saw a gene seem to jump to new places in the DNA, so the name helps you remember a piece of DNA that can 'move' and change where it sits in a cell.