cytoplasmic determinant

noun

noun

Biology, Natural sciences A substance, present in an egg or blastomere, that determines the fate of those cells that inherit it during cleavage.

Consequently, in order to learn of a cytoplasmic determinant serving a specific hereditary function, one must detect it in a mutated form.1965, Arnold Warren Ravin, The Evolution of Genetics:
A cytoplasmic determinant for dorsal axis formation in an early embryo of Xenopus laevis.2000, David G. Drubin, Cell Polarity:

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.