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n. A gene that is related to another gene in the same organism by descent from a single ancestral gene that was duplicated and that may have a different DNA sequence and biological function. [Back-formation from paralogous : para- (in reference to the parallel descent of the two genes from a single ancestral gene) + (HOMO)LOGOUS.] pa·ralo·gous (pə-rălə-gəs) adj. |
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