pleiotropic

[ plahy-uh-trop-ik, -troh-pik ]

adjective

1. Genetics. responsible for or affecting more than one phenotypic characteristic:

   Scientists are trying to determine if the various effects of pleiotropic genes are sensitive in different ways to different environmental influences.

Other Words From

• plei·o·trop·ic·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of pleiotropic¹

pleio- + -tropic ( def )

Example Sentences

Darwin called the same phenomenon the “correlation of growth” and geneticist today study what they call “pleiotropic effects.”

From The Daily Beast