The smallest element of genetic material capable of undergoing a distinct mutation, usually identified as a single pair of nucleotides.
〔生〕突变子，突变单位
Example sentencesExamples
Recons and mutons, two other types of genes proposed by Benzer, soon fell by the wayside, though, because it quickly became clear that they merely amounted to a single unit of DNA.
The first two units Benzer called the ‘recon’ and ‘muton’; each of these could be resolved to one or a few DNA nucleotides.
Definition of muton in US English:
muton
nounˈmyo͞oˌtän
Biology
The smallest element of genetic material capable of undergoing a distinct mutation, usually identified as a single pair of nucleotides.
〔生〕突变子，突变单位
Example sentencesExamples
Recons and mutons, two other types of genes proposed by Benzer, soon fell by the wayside, though, because it quickly became clear that they merely amounted to a single unit of DNA.
The first two units Benzer called the ‘recon’ and ‘muton’; each of these could be resolved to one or a few DNA nucleotides.