microaerophilic
- adjective
- /ˌmaɪkroʊˌɛrəˈfɪlɪk/
- Specialized
- Certain bacteria are microaerophilic and can only survive in environments with low oxygen levels.
Examples
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Some pathogens are microaerophilic, making them difficult to culture in normal laboratory conditions.
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The scientist studied microaerophilic organisms found in deep soil layers.
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The microaerophilic bacteria thrive in low-oxygen environments.
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Some microaerophilic organisms are found in the human gut.
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Certain bacteria are microaerophilic and can only survive in environments with low oxygen levels.
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Some pathogens are microaerophilic, making them difficult to culture in normal laboratory conditions.
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The microaerophilic bacteria thrive in low-oxygen environments.
Antonyms
How Oxygenated
Surface Forms
Morphology
microaerophilic = microaerophile (semi-transparent) = micro + aero + philic
Adding -ic to microaerophile is regular, but the resulting scientific adjective has a specialized meaning that is not fully obvious to a general learner.
Etymology
The word microaerophilic breaks into micro- 'small', aero- 'air' as in aeroplane, and -philic 'loving'. So a microaerophilic organism 'loves' only a small amount of air, which is why it needs low oxygen to survive.