gene flow

noun

: the passage and establishment of genes typical of one breeding population into the gene pool of another

Examples of gene flow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In Japan, for example, there was a massive gene flow from Korea during the Bronze Age. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 22 Dec. 2021 While researchers had previously known there was gene flow back and forth across the Bering Sea — perhaps for 5,000 years — this finding stretches that area of gene flow further south into the Kamchatka Peninsula. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 13 Feb. 2023 Genetically the original speakers of Indo-European and Dravidian may have had great similarities simply due to gene flow. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Aug. 2012 Large freeways, especially in Southern California, have fragmented puma habitat, trapping populations to their local mountains and restricting gene flow critical to the species’ survival. Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2023 To bring the rule into compliance with the order, USFWS proposed removing the 320-wolf population cap, adding a genetic objective to address limited gene flow, and restricting several ways in which land managers and private landowners are allowed to kill wolves. Lindsey Botts, The Arizona Republic, 31 Mar. 2022 Princeton University’s Joshua Akey explains how catalogs of surviving hominin lineages reveal insights into hybridization, that gene flow was widespread in both time and geography, and presents new evidence of an early out-of-Africa dispersal of modern humans. David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Mar. 2021 The model that included gene flow from archaic hominins produced results that more closely matched up to actual human populations in the region. Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 25 June 2019 Roads can prevent species from migrating, constrain gene flow in animal populations and shrink their range. Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2016

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gene flow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1939, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gene flow was in 1939

Dictionary Entries Near gene flow

Cite this Entry

“Gene flow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gene%20flow. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

gene flow

noun
: the passage and establishment of genes typical of one breeding population into the gene pool of another

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