complementation

American  

[kom-pluh-muhn-tey-shuhn] / ˌkɒm plə mənˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

1. complementary distribution.

2. Genetics. the occurrence of a wild-type phenotype when two closely related, interacting mutant genes are expressed in the same cell.

3. Grammar.

   1. complement.

   2. the use of grammatical complements.

4. cooperation in lowering tariffs to permit the movement of components among different countries when it is more profitable for each country to produce parts of a product than the whole.

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complementation British  

/ ˌkɒmplɪmɛnˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of forming a complement

2. genetics the combination of two homologous chromosomes, each with a different recessive mutant gene, in a single cell to produce a normal phenotype. The deficiency of one homologue is supplied by the normal allele of the other

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Etymology

Origin of complementation

First recorded in 1935–40; complement + -ation

Example Sentences

The technique, called blastocyst complementation, is similar to a technique used to create mice with human immune systems, which have proven to be powerful research tools.

From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2024

The research team then worked with Sang Yong Kim at NYU's Rodent Genome Engineering Lab using a stem cell technique called "tetraploid complementation" to create a living mouse whose cells included the overwritten genes.

From Science Daily • Nov. 1, 2023

Let’s take a closer look at blastocyst complementation.

From Slate • May 9, 2018

The amyloid peptide crystal structures that we discuss indicate the prevalence of the cross-β-sheet motif with steric-zipper-type side-chain interactions in peptide complementation and oligomerization in amyloid fibrils.

From Nature • Nov. 8, 2016

Also of note is that the gene involved in the FANCD1 complementation group is BRCA2, a tumor suppressor gene involved in DNA repair and often mutated in breast cancer.

From Scientific American • Feb. 14, 2011