subclone

subclone noun: a clone or descendant of a mutant occurring in a previous clone.

Noun

subclone (plural subclones)

A clone or descendant of a mutant occurring in a previous clone
- During this process it is possible that additional mutations occur in one of the transformed cells, which then may result in a subclone of cells with a more aggressive behavior.1997, Vinken & Bruyn, editors, Handbook of Clinical Neurology: Neuro-Oncology, →ISBN, page 17
(molecular biology) A partial segment of DNA, cloven from a previously-cloned segment, which is then cloned into another vector
- While Shelly was away from the lab, Rene decided that it would be easier to divide the lengthy segment into smaller pieces, or subclones, and to insert each fraction into plasmids, little circles of DNA and protein.1999, Natalie Angier, Natural Obsessions, →ISBN, page 192

subclone (third-person singular simple present subclones, present participle subcloning, simple past and past participle subcloned)

To reclone part of a previously-cloned DNA segment into a new vector
- (1) from the genomic library a clone of interest is selected and a small fragment is subcloned from one end of the clone2002, Gurbichan S. Miglani, Advanced Genetics, →ISBN, page 84

Noun
plural	subclones
Verb
third-person singular present	subclones
present participle	subcloning
past participle	subcloned
past	subcloned

From sub- + clone.

What does subclone mean?: Subclone means a clone or descendant of a mutant occurring in a previous clone.
What part of speech is subclone?: Subclone can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of subclone?: The plural of subclone is subclones.

Adapted from Wiktionary: subclone (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “subclone.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/subclone. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.