gene mutation

noun

plural gene mutations

: a permanent alteration (as by point mutation or frameshift mutation) in the nucleotide sequence of a gene

Researchers have identified a gene mutation that's believed to predispose people to malignant melanoma, the deadliest and most aggressive type of skin cancer.

—Health News

compare point mutation

Examples of gene mutation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The gene mutation—cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) mutations—is also linked to genetic pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis, another genetic disease mainly affecting the lungs and digestive system. —Jonathan B. Jassey, Verywell Health, 18 Apr. 2025

Mice carrying either mutation slept less, and further studies revealed that the gene mutations increased nerve cell activity in the brain. —Clarissa Brincat, Popular Science, 19 Feb. 2025

Currently, women who carry BRCA gene mutations are recommended to have their ovaries removed by their mid-thirties, resulting in early menopause. —Victoria Forster, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024

In a set of patients who had gliomas — the most common type of malignant brain tumor — cancer-causing gene mutations linked to toxic exposures were more prevalent in firefighters than in individuals from other professions, according to the study, published on Monday in Cancer. —Sharon Udasin, The Hill, 10 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gene mutation

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration

Kids Definition

gene mutation

noun

: mutation due to a chemical change in a gene

Medical Definition

gene mutation

noun

: a permanent alteration (as a point mutation or frameshift mutation) in the nucleotide sequence of a gene

… there is a 50 percent chance each offspring will inherit the gene mutation and may develop the disease.

—Fred Cicetti

In early August the team published a study in Nature that chronicled how a single gene mutation in a laboratory strain of Escherichia coli could create a bacterium resistant to triclosan …

—Gary Stix