gene
/dʒiːn/noun
1- Biology (in informal use) a unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the offspring【生】〈非正式〉遗传因子:
divorce is determined by your genes.
离婚是你们家遗传的。
1.1
- (in technical use) a distinct sequence of nucleotides forming part of a chromosome, the order of which determines the order of monomers in a polypeptide or nucleic acid molecule which a cell (or virus) may synthesize〈技〉基因。
词源
early 20th cent.: from German Gen, from Pangen, a supposed ultimate unit of heredity (from Greek pan- 'all' + genos 'race, kind, offspring').