aerotolerantadj.
/ˌɛːrə(ʊ)ˈtɒl(ə)rənt/, /ˌɛːrə(ʊ)ˈtɒl(ə)rn̩t/, U.S. /ˌɛroʊˈtɑl(ə)rənt/, /ˌɛrəˈtɑl(ə)rənt/ Microbiology.
Of an anaerobic microorganism: not killed by oxygen; able to grow slowly in the presence of oxygen.
ΚΠ
1971 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 68 1025/1 Aerotolerant anaerobe seems to be a more accurate description of most of the organisms in this category than the term microaerophile.
1984 M. J. Taussig Processes in Pathol. & Microbiol. (ed. 2) iv. 578 Most species are obligate anaerobes, growing only in the almost total absence of oxygen, though a few are aerotolerant and will grow slowly in air at atmospheric pressure.
2001 Avian Dis. 45 832/2 The bacterial isolate was presumptively characterized as an aerotolerant clostridial species.
Derivatives
ˌaeroˈtolerance n. the property of being aerotolerant; the degree to which this is exhibited.
ΚΠ
1975 FEBS Lett. 50 315 The distinction between the obligate and facultative anaerobe, formerly a somewhat arbitrary line drawn on a spectrum of aerotolerance, could be more satisfactorily defined in biochemical terms.
2006 Infection & Immunity 74 4214 Porphyromonas gingivalis..exhibits a high degree of aerotolerance and is able to survive in host cells.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1971