adjective
- (of a microorganism) unable to synthesize one or more organic compounds necessary for growth and requiring them to be supplied in the culture medium
Usage: technical; biology; microbiology
Examples
- The auxotrophic mutant could not grow on minimal medium without amino acid supplementation.
- Researchers used auxotrophic strains of bacteria to study metabolic pathways.
- An auxotrophic organism depends on external sources for essential nutrients it cannot produce itself.
- The laboratory maintained several auxotrophic yeast strains for genetic experiments.