Wild type意思

"Wild type" is a term used in genetics and molecular biology to describe the most common or original form of a gene or trait found in nature. It refers to the allele or variant of a gene that is present in the natural population without any mutations or alterations. In other words, it is the normal, unaltered version of a gene that is typically found in the species in its natural environment.

For example, consider a species of fruit fly with a wild-type eye color. If a mutation occurs in the gene that controls eye color, resulting in a different eye color, the original, unaltered gene would be referred to as the wild-type gene for eye color.

Wild-type traits are often used as a baseline for comparison when studying the effects of mutations or when conducting genetic experiments. Mutations that result in a different trait from the wild type are called "mutant" alleles, and individuals carrying these mutations are said to be "mutant" or "non-wild type."