Pantropic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Distributed across or native to tropical regions around the world
2. Existing throughout tropical areas across all continents and oceans
3. Present in tropical zones globally rather than confined to a single region

Etymology: "Pantropic" combines the Greek prefix "pan-", meaning "all," with "-tropic," from "tropos," "a turn." The same root gives us "tropics," the latitudes where the sun reaches its farthest points and appears to turn back, and "tropism," a growth or movement in response to a stimulus. In biology, a "tropic" response is a turning toward or away from something, so a pantropic organism or agent is one that can turn toward, or act on, many different kinds of host or tissue. The term is a modern scientific coinage built from classical parts rather than a word the Greeks used. Virologists apply it most often to viruses that infect a wide range of cell types or host species, and it is most common in technical writing on viral vectors and genetics. The geographic sense of "tropic" and the biological sense of "tropism" share the same root, but "pantropic" belongs to the second.

Synonyms: pantropical