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Genetics & Biotechnology vocabulary · Inheritance and Population Genetics

Phenotype

Meaning in genetics & biotechnology, with examples

nounCore term

In genetics & biotechnology, phenotype means: The observable characteristics of an organism, such as height, eye color or a disease, which result from its genes together with the environment.

In Turkish: fenotip

How it is used

Used in clinical genetics, model organism research and plant breeding. Researchers describe, observe and characterize a phenotype; a knockout mouse may 'show no obvious phenotype'. Clinicians often speak of 'genotype–phenotype correlation'.

Example sentences

  1. The knockout mice showed no obvious phenotype until they were six months old.

  2. We found a clear link between genotype and phenotype in this family.

Common collocations

  • clinical phenotype
  • mild phenotype
  • severe phenotype
  • genotype–phenotype correlation
  • show a phenotype
  • genotypeThe genetic makeup of an individual, usually meaning the specific pair of alleles a person or organism has for a particular gene.
  • traitA characteristic of an organism, such as eye color, height, disease risk or drought tolerance, that can be passed on or influenced by genes.
  • alleleOne of the different versions of a gene that can exist at the same position on a chromosome. You inherit one allele of each gene from each parent.
  • knockoutA cell or organism in which a specific gene has been made inactive on purpose, so that researchers can study what happens without it.

This word in other fields

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

More terms: Inheritance and Population Genetics

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