epistasis

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐπίστασις (epístasis, “stopping”), from ἐφίστημι (ephístēmi, “stop”), from ἐφ- (eph-) + ἵστημι (hístēmi, “make to stand”). The use in genetics was coined by English biologist William Bateson in 1909 in his book Mendel's Principles of Heredity.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈpɪstəsɪs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

epistasis (countable and uncountable, plural epistases)

1. (genetics) The modification of the expression of a gene by another unrelated one.

Coordinate terms

• epigenetics

Related terms

• epistatic
• hypostatic