noun
- a toxic substance produced by an organism that is harmful to that same organism; a self-produced poison.
Usage: technical; biology; medicine
Examples
- The bacteria accumulated autotoxins that eventually inhibited their own growth.
- Researchers studied how autotoxins affect cellular function in aging organisms.
- The plant's autotoxins served as a natural defense mechanism against its own pathogens.
- Autotoxins produced during metabolic stress can damage the organism's own tissues.