homeotic

adjective

ho·​me·​o·​tic ˌhō-mē-ˈä-tik 

ˌhä-

: relating to, caused by, or being a gene producing a usually major shift in the developmental fate of an organ or body part

Examples of homeotic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Working at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Edward Lewis found that homeotic transformations were linked to a distinctive cluster of genes — at least in the fruit fly Drosophilia melanogaster, the experimental animal of choice in genetic laboratories for more than a century. —Discover Magazine, 30 Oct. 2013

Word History

Etymology

from homeosis, homoeosis a shift in structural development, from Greek homoiōsis assimilation, resemblance, from homoioun to make like, from homoios

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

homeotic

adjective

ho·​me·​ot·​ic

variants also homoeotic

ˌhō-mē-ˈät-ik 

: relating to, caused by, or being a homeotic gene

a homeotic mutant causing replacement of an antenna by a leg in a fruit fly

homeotically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb