wild-type
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Meaning
(of an organism or gene) having the form or characteristics that are most common in nature and are considered the standard or normal state, as opposed to a mutant form.
the typical or original form of an organism, gene, or characteristic as it occurs in nature.
Structure
Usage
The wild-type fruit flies had red eyes, unlike the mutant strain with white eyes.
Researchers compared the growth rate of the genetically modified plant to its wild-type counterpart.
In this population, the wild-type allele is still the most frequent.
Etymology
The term "wild-type" is a modern scientific compound formed in English from two native and borrowed elements. "Wild," with its Old English origins meaning "in a natural state," was combined with "type," a word of Greek origin via Latin meaning "model" or "kind." The compound first emerged in early 20th-century genetics, creating a powerful conceptual contrast. It literally means "the natural model," logically designating the standard form of an organism or gene as observed in the wild, against which all laboratory-induced or naturally occurring mutant variations are compared.
Analysis
- wild: From Old English wilde (in a natural state, untamed, uncultivated). In this compound, it functions to denote the natural, uncultivated, or standard state found in the environment. - type: From Latin typus, from Greek typos (blow, impression, model, kind). In this compound, it functions as the head noun, meaning a kind, form, or model.