macromutationaladj.
/ˌmakrəʊmjuːˈteɪʃn̩(ə)l/, /ˌmakrəʊmjuːˈteɪʃən(ə)l/, U.S. /ˈˌmækroʊmjuˈteɪʃ(ə)nəl/ Biology.
Of or relating to macromutation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > [adjective] > changes or actions of genes or chromosomes > mutation
sportive1796
mutating1877
mutant1903
mutational1904
mutated1919
macromutational1952
saltational1963
macromutationist1988
1952 Amer. Scientist 40 96 A reshuffling or scrambling of the intimate chromosomal architecture..will act as a macromutational agent.
1992 E. F. Keller & E. A. Lloyd Keywords Evolutionary Biol. 196 According to Goldschmidt, a mutation acts as an macromutational agent when it produces ‘suddenly, a huge effect upon a series of developmental processes leading at once to a new and stable form, widely diverging from the former’.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2000; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1952