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Glite Dictionary
🧬 To mimic genetically 🧬 A lookalike trait
to phenocopy

to phenocopy

1 9.9
To make an animal or plant show a trait from the environment that looks like a gene mutation
  • verb
  • /ˈfiːnoʊˌkoʊpi/
  • Specialized
: fenocopiar
  • Environmental stressors may phenocopy inherited traits, making diagnosis more challenging.

Examples

  • Researchers found that certain drugs can phenocopy genetic disorders in laboratory animals.

  • Scientists used chemicals to phenocopy the effects of a specific gene mutation in plants.

  • The researchers phenocopied the trait in the lab.

  • Can scientists phenocopy traits in plants?

  • Researchers discovered that extreme temperatures can phenocopy the effects of a genetic defect in plant growth.

  • In their study, they found that exposure to toxins could phenocopy certain genetic disorders in lab mice.

  • The drought was severe enough to phenocopy the genetic mutations that usually increase drought resistance in these crops.

Surface Forms

phenocopy infinitive
phenocopied past
phenocopied past participle
phenocopying present participle
phenocopies third person singular

Morphology

phenocopy = pheno + copy (opaque) = pheno + copy

The term combines 'pheno' (relating to phenotypes) and 'copy', but the specific scientific meaning is specialized and not immediately clear from the components.

Etymology

The verb phenocopy joins pheno- ('to show' or 'appearance') and copy ('duplicate'). To phenocopy is to make a living thing 'look like' it has a change in its genes by using environmental factors, so the look is copied but the gene is not.