This is a list of unusual biological names, given to biological inventions and discoveries. One might consider the listed names unusual due to their containing pop culture references or puns.
Genes and proteins
In the early days of genomics, genes were often given creative names upon discovery. A nomenclature committee later established naming guidelines, but several early names remain.[1]
Encodes a functional UMP Kinase located in the plastid that binds to group II intron plastid transcription products. Mutants show decreased accumulation of target transcripts/proteins.[9]
"Toll" is German for "Amazing", "Awesome". Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and her colleague Prof. Eric Wieschaus sat at a double microscope that allows two people to examine the same object at the same time. When they saw an embryo mutant one day whose development was ventralised, they were both completely surprised and spontaneously exclaimed "Toll" (great).
UNICORN
Regulates planar growth in Arabidopsis thaliana[12]
Controversies
Unusual names have caused issues for scientists explaining genetic diseases to lay-people, such as when an individual is affected by a gene with an offensive or insensitive name.[13] This has particularly been noted in patients with a defect in the sonic hedgehog gene pathway and the disease formerly named CATCH22 for "cardiac anomaly, T-cell deficit, clefting and hypocalcaemia for chromosome 22q11.2 microdeletions". This name was abandoned due to the no-win connotations.[14]
In 1993 Alfonso Martinez Arias, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, was ordered to change the name of the gene he had discovered, VELCRO, because of copyright issues with Velcro.[15] The gene was renamed to puckered.[16] In 2005, Pokémon threatened to sue the discoverer of POKEMON because the name was attracting attention when its link to the development of cancer was published.[15]
Chromatin Interaction Analysis by Paired-End Tag Sequencing (ChIA-PET) is a technique to determine chromatin interactions which shares a name with Chia Pets.
KINC ("Kink") is a computer program used to generate co-expression networks[17]
SHREC (single-molecule high-resolution colocalization) ("Shrek") is a modified labeling technique named after a titular character in the movie Shrek. Its older sister technique FIONA is still used as well.
CRISPy TAKO (CRISPR Turbo Accelerated KnockOut) ("crispy taco") is a gene knockout technique useful for in vivo reverse genetic screens.
^Lukacsovich, Tamas; Yuge, Kazuya; Awano, Wakae; Asztalos, Zoltan; Kondo, Shunzo; Juni, Naoto; Yamamoto, Daisuke (2003). "Theken and barbie gene encoding a putative transcription factor with a BTB domain and three zinc finger motifs functions in terminalia development of Drosophila". Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology. 54 (2): 77–94. doi:10.1002/arch.10105. PMID14518006.