Cistron

The cistron is a term defined in 1957 by the geneticist Seymour Benzer that describes genetic units within which mutations can no longer complement one another. Cistron is an outdated term for genes and is rarely used today

By definition, it cannot be further subdivided genetically according to phenotypic criteria. That means: When combining two genes on different chromosomes, if both genes are mutated, no complementation may take place, so that they count as separate cistrons.

See also

• Monocistronic mRNA
• Polycistronic mRNA
• Operon

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Benzer, S. (1957): The elementary units of heredity. ( Memento of July 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: The Chemical Basis of Heredity. Johns Hopkins University Press , Baltimore. Pp. 70-93.