wildtype
n.— «“Our laboratory testing of the vCT using the BD ProbeTec System revealed that the vCT was as easily detected as the ’wildtype’ CT.” “Wildtype” is the term for the common circulating strain of an organism.» —“Variant Strain of Chlamydia May Go Undetected” in Baltimore, Maryland PR Newswire APr. 26, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Mick in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, shares that a co-worker from Texas used to advise him when lifting heavy objects to heave carefully because You don’t want to strain your milk. The origin of this expression is uncertain, although it may...
When you had sleepovers as a child, what did you call the makeshift beds you made on the floor? In some places, you call those bedclothes and blankets a pallet. This word comes from an old term for “straw.” And: What’s the story...
I don’t know if this makes a difference, but this is very much a term of art, not slang or scientific vernacular. If I’m not mistaken, it goes back in genetics literature hundreds of years.