transgene

noun

: a gene that is taken from the genome of one organism and introduced into the genome of another organism by artificial techniques

Examples of transgene in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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And transgenes are genes scientists have inserted into a cell that weren’t there originally. New Atlas, 10 Apr. 2025 The therapy intravenously delivers a transgene that codes for select portions of a protein called dystrophin in healthy muscle cells; the protein is mutated in patients with DMD. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 21 June 2024 Future research avenues could explore other cell targets to improve vector targeting or investigate novel methods that transition semi-random integration to more precise integration of transgenes into the host genome. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024 The team didn’t find mosquitoes carrying the transgenes, foreign to A. aegypti, that Oxitec introduced to kill offspring and to fluorescently label the mosquitoes as GM. Kelly Servick, Science | AAAS, 1 Oct. 2019 Pest control and resistance management through release of insects carrying a male-selecting transgene. Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 16 July 2015

Word History

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of transgene was in 1984

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Cite this Entry

“Transgene.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transgene. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

Medical Definition

transgene

noun
: a gene that is taken from the genome of one organism and introduced into the genome of another organism by artificial techniques
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