epistasis

noun

epis·​ta·​sis i-ˈpi-stə-səs 

plural epistases i-ˈpi-stə-ˌsēz 

: suppression of the effect of a gene by a nonallelic gene

epistatic

ˌe-pə-ˈsta-tik 

adjective

Examples of epistasis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To put it differently, a full embrace of epistasis can feel almost nihilistic. —C. Brandon Ogbunu, Quanta Magazine, 31 July 2023

The reason for outbreeding depression is most likely going to be some sort of antagonistic epistasis, deleterious gene-gene interactions. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2012

Word History

Etymology

epi- + -stasis, after earlier epistatic, by analogy with metastatic : metastatis and like pairs

Note: The term epistatic was introduced, along with hypostatic, by the English biologist William Bateson (1861-1926) in "Facts Limiting the Theory of Heredity" ("Address delivered at the International Zoological Congress, before the Section of Cytology and Heredity, August 23, 1907"), Science, series 2, vol. 26 (July-December, 1907), issue of November 15, 1907, p. 653: "Till lately we spoke of the relations between the gray color of the mouse to the black color in terms of dominance …We can perhaps best express the relation between the gray and the black by the use of metaphor 'higher and lower,' and I therefore suggest the term epistatic as applicable to characters which have to be, as it were, lifted off in order to permit the lower or hypostatic character to appear."

First Known Use

circa 1917, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for epistasis

• anabasis
• cholestasis
• haemostasis
• hemostasis
• hypostasis
• atelectasis
• bronchiectasis
• homeostasis
• basis
• glacis
• mesas
• stasis

Medical Definition

epistasis

noun

epis·​ta·​sis i-ˈpis-tə-səs 

plural epistases -ˌsēz 

1

a

: suppression of a secretion or discharge

b

: a scum on the surface of urine

2

: suppression of the effect of a gene by a nonallelic gene

the role of epistasis in polygenic inheritance