Polytene Definition

pŏlē-tēn
adjective
Relating to or having large chromosomes formed by repeated DNA replication and consisting of many chromatids side by side.
American Heritage Medicine
noun

(molecular biology) A very large chromosome with many strands; a chromosome exhibiting polyteny.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Polytene

Noun

Singular:
polytene
Plural:
polytenes

Origin of Polytene

  • poly– Latin taenia band (from Greek tainiā ribbon ten- in Indo-European roots)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • poly- +"Ž -tene

    From Wiktionary

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