Help:FAQ
Contents
What is the difference between 'decreased phenotype X' and 'abolished phenotype X'?
The 'decreased phenotype X' would be used when a phenotype is decreased, but can still be detected. For example, OMP:0000002 decreased cell motility would be used to describe the phenotype of a mutant strain that is less motile than the parent strain, but still retains some motility. Either OMP:0000002 or OMP:0007000 abolished cell motility could be used to describe the phenotype of a mutant that has no detectable motility because abolished motility is the limit case of decreased motility
Why would you describe a complete loss as decreased X, which a child of X positive?
Example:
- decreased motility is a child of motile
- decreased catalase activity is a child of catalase activity
Why not use the non-X term, e.g. nonmotile or catalase negative
We use terms like nonmotile and catalase negative to annotate properties of a species, while decreased motility or decreased catalase activity are used for mutants where there is less of X than in the reference strain (wt or a parent), which is motile and catalase positive.
References
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