Mutageneses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The processes by which genetic mutations are created through environmental factors or biological agents
2. The various mechanisms that lead to alterations in DNA sequences, potentially causing heritable changes
3. The methods through which DNA can undergo changes, resulting in potential impacts on the organism's traits or disease susceptibility

Etymology: "Mutageneses" is simply the plural of "mutagenesis," a term built in modern scientific English from two parts: "muta-," a combining form of "mutation," and "genesis," meaning origin or production. The second element comes ultimately from ancient Greek "génesis," meaning birth, origin or coming into being, which passed into Latin as "genesis" and then into English, where it has long been used in the sense of a beginning or a process of production. The first element, "muta-," is an abbreviated form of "mutation," from Latin "mutatio," a change. Joining the two gives a compound meaning roughly "the bringing about of change," which fits the term's use for processes that generate genetic alterations. Because it is a coinage from classical roots, nobody in antiquity used it, and its meaning was fixed by biologists who needed a name for the phenomenon rather than by any older usage.

Synonyms: mutation events, genetic changes