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episome

American  
[ep-uh-sohm] / ˈɛp əˌsoʊm /

noun

Genetics.

  1. bacterial DNA that is extrachromosomal and that may replicate autonomously as a plasmid or become incorporated into the chromosome and replicate with it.

episome British  
/ ˈɛpɪˌsəʊm /

noun

  1. a unit of genetic material (DNA) in bacteria, such as a plasmid, that can either replicate independently or can be integrated into the host chromosome

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • episomal adjective
  • episomally adverb

Etymology

Origin of episome

First recorded in 1930–35; epi- + -some 3

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.