bubble-bath An arabidopsis gene, loss of which results in a larger number of small vesicles, giving the cell the appearance of being filled with bubbles.

callipyge meaning "beautiful buttocks." The gene, identified from sheep, affects muscle growth on their bottoms.

DDT This stands for D-dopachrome tautomerase [Esumi et al, 1998, Mamm. Genome 9(9): 753]. It is unrelated to the pesticide dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane.

Diablo - a key protein involved in cell death (also known as Second Mitochondria-Derived Activator of Caspases, or SMAC)

lunatic fringe

radical fringe [Science 7/19/1996]

Similar to Mothers Against Decapentaplegic (SMAD) homologous to the Drosophila MAD gene.

sonic hedgehog

indian hedgehog

desert hedgehog

tiggywinkle hedgehog (in zebrafish)

JAK - called "Janus Kinase" when it was published, but originally it stood for "Just Another Kinase."

Jordan element - named after Michael Jordan for its extraordinary capacity to jump around the genome of the simple plant Volvox.

Pokemon - formerly a cancer-causing gene in humans and mice, an acronym for "POK erythroid myeloid ontogenic." It is now being called Zbtb7 after Pokémon USA threatened a lawsuit over trademark. [Nature 438: 897.]

RING - "really interesting new gene"

superman - a flower-related gene in Arabidopsis.
kryptonite - a gene which supresses superman.

Tsix - the antisense gene of Xist (inactive X-specific transcript).

ZapA (a virulence factor of Proteus mirabilis) after Frank Zappa. [J. Bacteriol. 177(20)] (more details)