genetic isolate


i·so·late

(ī'sō-lāt), 1. To separate, to set apart from others; that which is so treated. 2. To free of chemical contaminants. 3. In psychoanalysis, to separate ideas, experiences, or memories from the affects pertaining to them. 4. In group psychotherapy, a patient to whom others in the group do not respond. 5. Viable organisms separated on a single occasion from a sample taken from a host or culture system. 6. A population that for geographic, linguistic, cultural, social, religious, or other reasons is subject to little or no gene flow. Synonym(s): genetic isolate [It. isolare; Mediev. L. insulo, pp. -atus, to insulate, fr. L. insula, island]