gene pool

American  

noun

1. the total genetic information in the gametes of all the individuals in a population.

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gene pool British  

noun

1. the sum of all the genes in an interbreeding population

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gene pool Scientific  

1. The collective genetic information contained within a population of sexually reproducing organisms.

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gene pool Cultural  

1. The total number of genes available in a given species.

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Loosely speaking, the gene pool represents the total breeding stock available to the species.

Etymology

Origin of gene pool

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

And with ways to “improve” that genome—including by adding more of his own genes to humanity’s gene pool.

From Slate

It refers to ginning up the gene pool through tools like gene editing and A.I. enhancement, the argument being that manipulating genes can make us better, faster, smarter.

From Slate

Therefore, if Neanderthal males and modern human females were mating more frequently, more human X chromosomes would enter the Neanderthal gene pool -- and fewer Neanderthal X chromosomes would end up in human populations.

From Barron's

Rosemary Kind chairs the Entelbucher Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain, and says they need to bring puppies into the country because "the gene pool is so small" that if they only bred from those here they risked introducing "health conditions that we'd rather not have in the breed".

From BBC

They dated the bones, analysed the DNA and compared this with the gene pool of modern cats.

From BBC