auxotrophy

A1U1X8O1T1R1O1P3H4Y4

noun

The inability of a microorganism to synthesize an organic compound required for its growth, often as a result of mutation.

Scrabble 25
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounauxotrophy (usually uncountable, plural auxotrophies)

plural auxotrophies

  1. uncountableusuallybiologyThe inability of a microorganism to synthesize an organic compound required for its growth, often as a result of mutation.

    There are reasons for believing that the mutation rates to auxotrophy are in general higher than the rates to prototrophy.

    1951 March, K. C. Atwood, “Periodic Selection in Escherichia Coli”, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, volume 37, number 3, page 146

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
auxotrophism

Origin

From auxo- + -trophy.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

auxotrophy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auxotrophy

MLA

“auxotrophy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auxotrophy. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “auxotrophy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/auxotrophy.

Source: auxotrophy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.