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Genetics & Biotechnology vocabulary · Gene Expression and Regulation

Gene expression

Meaning in genetics & biotechnology, with examples

nounCore term

In genetics & biotechnology, gene expression means: The process by which the information in a gene is used to make a product, usually a protein, and the level at which this happens in a cell.

In Turkish: gen ifadesi, gen ekspresyonu

How it is used

Used constantly in molecular biology papers and lab meetings. Researchers measure, compare, induce and suppress gene expression, often with qPCR or RNA-seq. Typical phrases are 'expression levels', 'differential gene expression' and 'high expression in the liver'.

Example sentences

  1. We measured gene expression in treated and untreated cells by qPCR.

  2. Drought stress changes gene expression in the plant within a few hours.

Common collocations

  • measure gene expression
  • gene expression profile
  • differential gene expression
  • expression level
  • regulate gene expression
  • transcriptionThe first step of gene expression, in which an enzyme called RNA polymerase copies the DNA sequence of a gene into a matching RNA molecule.
  • translationThe process in which ribosomes read the codons of an mRNA molecule and join amino acids together in the right order to build a protein.
  • promoterA region of DNA just before a gene where RNA polymerase and transcription factors bind to start transcription.
  • upregulateTo increase the expression or activity of a gene or protein. The opposite is 'downregulate'.
  • qPCRQuantitative PCR, also called real-time PCR: a type of PCR that measures the amount of DNA as it is copied, using a fluorescent signal, to show how much target was in the sample.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Gene Expression and Regulation

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