noun
- an organism that can synthesize all necessary nutrients from simple inorganic compounds and does not require organic compounds for growth
Usage: biology; microbiology
Examples
- Wild-type bacteria are typically prototrophs that can grow on minimal media.
- The prototroph was able to synthesize all amino acids needed for survival.
- Scientists compared the growth rates of prototrophs and auxotrophs in the experiment.
- Most prototrophs can produce essential vitamins and cofactors independently.
- The mutation converted the prototroph into an auxotroph requiring histidine supplementation.
- Laboratory strains often lose their prototroph characteristics through repeated culturing.