lethal gene
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of lethal gene
First recorded in 1935–40
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Male offspring survive to pass on the lethal gene.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 17, 2019
The company created a strain of Aedes aegypti—the mosquito species that transmits the Zika and chikungunya viruses—designed to spread a lethal gene and dramatically cut down populations.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 27, 2017
By the end of 2015, there was a reduction in wild mosquito larvae — as opposed to larvae inheriting the lethal gene — of 82 percent, the company said.
From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2016
The company's patented technique involves the insertion of a lethal gene into insect embryos.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2015
When the modified mosquitoes mate with the local A. aegyptimosquitoes, they spread the lethal gene through the population, in theory causing it to crash.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 8, 2011
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.
