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Glite Dictionary
structural gene

structural gene

7.0
A part of DNA that tells the cell how to make a specific protein
  • noun
  • /ˈstrʌk.tʃər.əl dʒiːn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : gen estructural
  • Many developmental processes depend on the expression of structural genes that define body plans and organ formation.

Examples

  • Kelly, however, reported that a "generous estimate of the number of unique structural genes in the human genome is 50,000" (p. 33).

    Academic text (1993)

  • Polymorphism in the Ah locus, which is speculated to be the structural gene for the receptor, seems to determine the sensitivity of experimental animals to TCDD and congeners.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The study revealed that structural genes are crucial for producing the proteins needed for cellular functions.

  • Researchers found that changes in structural genes can result in significant variations in protein structure and function.

Synonyms

gene
vsstructural gene
  • Specialized
644 3.1

Part of DNA in a cell that tells the body how to make a trait

codes the exact amino acid sequence to determine protein structure

Surface Forms

structural gene singular
structural genes plural

Morphology

structural + gene

The meaning is compositionally built from 'structural' (related to structure) + 'gene' (a DNA segment), so a learner can infer it refers to a gene concerned with the structure of something (e.g., encoding structural proteins). Although technical, the semantic relation is direct and cross-linguistically regular, so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely grasp the basic meaning.

Etymology

Structural gene is like a building blueprint: structural shows the shape or parts to build and gene is the instruction. Think of a plan that tells a cell exactly how to make a protein, so a structural gene is a gene that 'codes for' the protein's structure.