pseudocopy

English

Etymology

pseudo- +‎ copy

Noun

pseudocopy (plural pseudocopies)

1. (genetics) An imperfect (mutated or incomplete) copy of a gene that is inserted into another segment of the DNA or RNA.
   • 1994, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, page 2822:

     This could reflect the presence of only one bona fide copy of the element and one pseudocopy, assuming that the latter is mutated to an extent preventing adequate primer binding but allowing detection by hybridization.

   • 2001, Michael J. Behe, Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution:

     In order to make even a pseudocopy of a gene, a dozen sophisticated proteins are required: to pry apart the two DNA strands, to align the copying machinery at the right place, to stitch the nucleotides together into a string, to insert the pseudocopy back into the DNA, and much more.

   • 2017, Hani K. Rizk, Evolution Oriented Genome Personalised: The Big Bang and its Output, page 258:

     The disrupted pseudogene is in the mouse a pseudocopy of a gene of unknown function, called makorin 1.