lethal gene

American  

noun

Genetics.

1. a gene that under certain conditions causes the death of an organism.

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Etymology

Origin of lethal gene

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

A recent study from the Powell lab at Yale University has since confirmed that some of the offspring of the GM mosquitoes didn’t succumb to the self-limiting lethal gene and survived to adulthood.

From Salon

Male offspring survive to pass on the lethal gene.

From Science Magazine

Despite the enormous potential for such efforts to yield drug targets, a challenge remains: how can researchers systematically search for synthetically lethal gene relationships?

From Nature

When I ask him the probability of his three sons inheriting the same lethal gene, there's a pause and he chokes up.

From BBC

Identification of essential genes and synthetic lethal gene combinations in Escherichia coli K-12.

From Nature