dominant gene - gene that produces the same phenotype in the organism whether or not its allele identical; "the dominant gene for brown eyes"

allele, allelomorph - one of two alternate forms of a gene that can have the same locus on homologous chromosomes and are responsible for alternative traits; "some alleles are dominant over others"

genetic marker - a specific gene that produces a recognizable trait and can be used in family or population studies

homeotic gene - one the genes that are involved in embryologic development

lethal gene - any gene that has an effect that causes the death of the organism at any stage of life

linkage group, linked genes - any pair of genes that tend to be transmitted together; "the genes of Drosophila fall into four linkage groups"

modifier gene, modifier - a gene that modifies the effect produced by another gene

mutant gene - a gene that has changed so that the normal transmission and expression of a trait is affected

nonallele - genes that are not competitors at the same locus

operator gene - a gene that activates the production of messenger RNA by adjacent structural genes

oncogene, transforming gene - a gene that causes normal cells to change into cancerous tumor cells

polygene - a gene that by itself has little effect on the phenotype but which can act together with others to produce observable variations

proto-oncogene - a normal gene that has the potential to become an oncogene

recessive gene - gene that produces its characteristic phenotype only when its allele is identical; "the recessive gene for blue eyes"

regulator gene, regulatory gene - a gene that produces a repressor substance that inhibits an operator gene

repressor gene - gene that prevents a nonallele from being transcribed

structural gene - a gene that controls the production of a specific protein or peptide

suppresser gene, suppressor gene, suppresser, suppressor - a gene that suppresses the phenotypic expression of another gene (especially of a mutant gene)

X-linked gene - a gene located on an X chromosome

holandric gene, Y-linked gene - a gene located on a Y chromosome

chromosome - a threadlike body in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order

genetic science, genetics - the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms

molecular biology - the branch of biology that studies the structure and activity of macromolecules essential to life (and especially with their genetic role)

sequence - serial arrangement in which things follow in logical order or a recurrent pattern; "the sequence of names was alphabetical"; "he invented a technique to determine the sequence of base pairs in DNA"

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; "DNA is the king of molecules"