Meaning & use
Auxotrophic
Last updated
Describing an organism, typically a microbe, that has lost the ability to synthesize a particular compound needed for growth and must obtain it from its environment.
See it in a sentence
Researchers used an auxotrophic strain of bacteria that could only grow with added amino acids.
The mutant yeast was auxotrophic for uracil, so it needed a supplemented growth medium.
A note on using this word
Auxotrophic strains are widely used as genetic markers in laboratory research because their growth requirements reveal specific gene functions.
Words with an opposite meaning
prototrophic
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