0 something that happened or existed before another thing, especially if it either developed into it or had an influence on it:
1 something that comes before another and may lead to it or influence its development:
Opponents fear this would be a precursor to development of the entire canyon.
During lignification, phenyl rings of lignin precursors align to the cellulose molecule surfaces in a controlled and ordered process.
A set of precursors to cluster acquisition was thereby identified and shown to be recursive.
Understanding the ratio of precursor types in the population might be useful therapeutically.
These particles were prepared from molecular precursors combined with a surface modification agent either by a photolytic or a thermal nucleation and growth step.
Proliferation of granule cell precursors in the dentate gyrus of adult monkeys is diminished by stress.
Multiple proteases may also be involved in the degradation of the many protein precursors found in the developing seed.
This was the precursor to a remarkable series of events.
These nascent yolk precursors could become fused with each other to form a membrane-limited yolk platelet, which always enclosed lipid droplets.
