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host-specific

American  
[hohst-spi-sif-ik] / ˈhoʊst spɪˈsɪf ɪk /

adjective

  1. capable of living solely on or in one species of host, as a parasite that infests only chickens.


Etymology

Origin of host-specific

First recorded in 1965–70


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Their work supports earlier findings, based on DNA markers and crossing experiments which suggested that F. xylarioides is a species complex containing distinct, host-specific populations.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2024

And one of the most abundant milkweed-visiting aphids, the nonnative oleander aphid, is host-specific, meaning it doesn’t eat other plants.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2023

The native population of flies fed on hawthorn species and is host-specific: it only infests hawthorn trees.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013

These losses were easily observable by comparison to reference isolate genomes, and these initial findings indicate that microbial strain- and host-specific gene gains and polymorphisms may be similarly ubiquitous.

From Nature ● Jun. 13, 2012

“Genetic evidence for female host-specific races of the common cuckoo.”

From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2010

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