gene flow

noun

Ecology.

1. the alteration of the frequencies of alleles of particular genes in a population, resulting from interbreeding with organisms from another population having different frequencies.

gene flow

noun

1. the movement and exchange of genes between interbreeding populations

Word History and Origins

Origin of gene flow¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

"We don't count that as invasion, but we are directly facilitating that. I'm hitting this note because it very much underlies our idea of invasion and gene flow, how genetics moves around and what it means to point to an organism and say it belongs to a certain species."

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That strategy, called assisted gene flow, can be accomplished by planting seeds or seedlings, or by relocating mature trees, he said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Scientists and conservationists say this wildlife passage will also be crucial to restoring gene flow among small, isolated populations of cougars trapped south of the freeway in the Santa Monica Mountains, and cougars confined to the north in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains.

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Female hybrids could therefore be a source of continuous gene flow, which in the long term could lead to the emergence of hybrid species.

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Noting that “race science requires evidence from the past to elevate race as a biological concept,” she urged anthropologists to depict gene flow over time in ways that don’t emphasize branches as endpoints—perhaps, instead, as a braided stream with channels intersecting at some times, diverging at others.

Read more on Science Magazine