What does "sport" mean in this sentence?
"We are also getting disconcerting signals from around the world, including recent news of the emergence and spread of the mcr-1 gene, which helps bacteria resist even some of our last-resort antibiotics. An infection with bacteria that sport this gene could be fatal, even in the best health care settings. "
This short passage is from one issue of Scientific American. I don't understand the meaning of "sport". Does it mean stimulate? Please help me.
One of the definitions of the word "sport" is a verb with a meaning similar to "display" or "wear". I just looked at a few dictionaries and it seems that many do not carry this definition, so it's understandable that it's eluded you (assuming you have actually looked at a dictionary).
eg "John was sporting his medal that he'd won in the tournament at the weekend"
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sport
in the transitive verb section (v.tr):
To wear or have on one's body, especially prominently or ostentatiously: sports diamond earrings; sports a tattoo.
To have as a prominent feature: a car sporting a new paint job.
In this context, it's synonymous with "have" or "carry".