translocate

Translocate is a verb meaning to move or transfer something from one place to another. In biology, translocation refers to the movement of substances or elements within an organism, tissue, or cell. The term derives from Latin translocare, meaning to place across or move.

In plants, translocation refers to the movement of organic compounds, mainly sugars such as sucrose, through the phloem from photosynthetic sources to non-photosynthetic sinks like growing tissues, storage organs, or developing fruits. The process is explained by the pressure-flow hypothesis, which involves active loading of sugars into phloem sieve tubes at source tissues, bulk flow driven by osmotic gradients, and unloading at sinks.

In molecular genetics, chromosomal translocation is a structural rearrangement in which segments from two different chromosomes become joined in new ways. Translocations can disrupt genes or create novel fusion genes that alter gene function. They are associated with a range of diseases, notably several cancers; well-known examples include the BCR-ABL translocation t(9;22) in chronic myeloid leukemia and the PML-RARA translocation t(15;17) in acute promyelocytic leukemia, among others. Detection and characterization of translocations are important in medical diagnostics and treatment planning.

In medicine and physiology, the term also appears in descriptions of the movement of substances within an organism, such as transport of metabolites within circulatory or lymphatic systems, though the specific usage varies by field.