The condition of being auxotrophic; the inability of an organism to synthesize certain compounds needed for growth.
Greek 'auxein' (to grow) + 'trophe' (nourishment). First used in microbiology in the mid-20th century to describe mutants that had lost biosynthetic pathways.
Auxotrophy accidentally gave scientists a superpower for understanding genetics—by creating bacteria that need amino acids they can't make, researchers could track exactly which genes control which functions!
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