JUMPING GENE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does jumping gene mean? 

• JUMPING GENE (noun)
  The noun JUMPING GENE has 1 sense:

1. a segment of DNA that can become integrated at many different sites along a chromosome (especially a segment of bacterial DNA that can be translocated as a whole)

  Familiarity information: JUMPING GENE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• JUMPING GENE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A segment of DNA that can become integrated at many different sites along a chromosome (especially a segment of bacterial DNA that can be translocated as a whole)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

jumping gene; transposon

Hypernyms ("jumping gene" is a kind of...):

deoxyribonucleic acid; desoxyribonucleic acid; DNA ((biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information)

 Context examples 

Transposons, more commonly called jumping genes, are mobile snippets of DNA code that can copy themselves into new positions within the genome - the genetic code of an organism.

(Harnessing tomato jumping genes could help speed-breed drought-resistant crops, University of Cambridge)

Using the jumping genes already present in plants to generate new characteristics would be a significant step forward from traditional breeding techniques, making it possible to generate new traits in crops that have traditionally been bred to produce uniform shapes, colours and sizes to make harvesting more efficient and maximise yield.

(Harnessing tomato jumping genes could help speed-breed drought-resistant crops, University of Cambridge)

Researchers from the University of Cambridge’s Sainsbury Laboratory (SLCU) and Department of Plant Sciences have discovered that drought stress triggers the activity of a family of jumping genes (Rider retrotransposons) previously known to contribute to fruit shape and colour in tomatoes.

(Harnessing tomato jumping genes could help speed-breed drought-resistant crops, University of Cambridge)