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pleiotropy
(redirected from Antagonistic Pleiotropy)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
pleiotropy /plei·ot·ro·py/ (-pe) the production by a single gene of multiple phenotypic effects.pleiotrop´ic
pleiotropy
[plī·ot′rəpē]
Etymology: Gk, pleion, more, trepein to turn
the production by a single gene of a complex of unrelated phenotypic effects. The effects may be a manifestation of a particular disorder, such as the cluster of symptoms in Marfan's syndrome; aortic aneurysm; dislocation of the optic lens; skeletal deformities; and arachnodactyly, any or all of which may be present. pleiotropic, adj.

pleiotropy [pli-ot´rŏ-pe]
the production by a single gene of multiple phenotypic effects. The term is often used to refer to a single gene defect that is expressed as problems in multiple systems of the body, such as in osteogenesis imperfecta, where the gene causes defects in several different systems that contain collagen.

pleiotropism, pleiotropy
the production by a single gene of multiple phenotypic effects.


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About 50 years ago, George Williams (13) published what has been called the antagonistic pleiotropy theory which hypothesizes that a gene that may have a positive impact on several traits (pleiotropy) may actually lead to detrimental effects by affecting fitness in a negative manner (antagonistic) at a later stage in life.
Some gerontologists speculate that a better understanding of antagonistic pleiotropy might reveal much about what aging is, and how cellular senescence contributes to it.
Another example of antagonistic pleiotropy was discovered by the biologist Leonard Hayflick in 1961.
 
 
 
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