mutant gene
1
5.8
- noun
- /ˈmjuːtənt dʒiːn/
- Specialized
:
gen mutante
- Children are equally likely to inherit either the mutant gene or its unchanged counterpart; this slows the spread of the mutant gene over the generations.
- identify a mutant gene
I go, it wasn't the gene, it was a program that altered a healthy gene and turned it into a mutant gene.
- I go, it wasn't the gene, it was a program that altered a healthy gene and turned it into a mutant gene.
- So the important question is this, does aspirin have a chemotherapeutic benefit in treating breast cancers with this mutant gene?
Examples
-
"This mutant gene enabled us to get the semidwarf component into varieties in just 6 years, giving us semidwarf rice varieties in California with yields averaging 15 percent higher," Rutger concludes.
Academic text (1994) -
We're able to target the gene products formed by these mutant genes and thereby create better therapies.
-
Leaving those families of Dr. Mccarthy and her husband's mutant gene.
-
Some people think it's hereditary, a mutant gene triggered by the environment, exposure to a virus or an infection of some sort.
-
If you're lucky, the mutant genes will activate and manifest in a spectacular fashion.
-
The mutant genes are then inserted into yeast organisms, where they begin to make or express starch-digesting enzymes.
Academic text (2002) -
I'm injecting you with a serum... that activates any mutant genes lurking in your DNA.
-
Children are equally likely to inherit either the mutant gene or its unchanged counterpart; this slows the spread of the mutant gene over the generations.
Academic text (2002) -
The mutant gene responsible for the disease is inherited from one parent.
-
Researchers identified a mutant gene that causes resistance to certain pesticides.
How Altered
- Specialized
1
5.8
35
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a gene that has undergone a change' is directly and compositionally derived from 'mutant' (altered at the genetic level) + 'gene' (a DNA segment). This adjective+noun combination is literal and common in scientific language and across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the MWE.
Etymology
Mutant gene comes from the words mutant and gene, where mutant means 'changed' and gene means a tiny instruction in the body. Imagine a recipe where one line is changed; that 'changed' instruction can alter a trait, so mutant gene means 'a gene that has changed and can affect how a person or animal looks or works'.