expressed

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of express.

   The committee expressed concern about the budget shortfall.

   Gratitude was expressed by everyone present at the ceremony.

   Note

   A regular past form, so one spelling covers both the simple past (the committee expressed concern) and the participle after have or be (concern was expressed). The participle carries every sense of the verb, not only the communicative one. Milk that has been squeezed out is expressed milk, and in genetics the participle settles into the adjective for active genes.

2. 2
   adjective

   Of a gene, having been transcribed into RNA so that its information is actively put to use.

   Like a recipe in active use in the kitchen, not one sitting closed in the book.

   Highly expressed genes produce large amounts of their corresponding protein.

   Researchers compared expressed sequences across the two tissue samples.

   Oppositeunexpressed

   Note

   A laboratory word that can mislead outsiders: an expressed gene has been switched on, not put into words. Researchers grade it with adverbs rather than comparatives, as in highly expressed genes. They also apply it to stretches of genetic material, as in expressed sequences. A gene that stays untranscribed is called silent, which is the natural opposite in this usage.

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