Monomorphic

Monomorphic is an adjective describing something that exists in a single form or type. The word comes from the Greek mono- meaning “one” and morphe meaning “form.” In science and related fields, monomorphic is used to indicate limited or uniform variation across individuals, populations, or contexts, in contrast with polymorphic or variable forms.

In biology and ecology, a monomorphic population or species shows little morphological variation across its range. This contrasts with polymorphism, where multiple distinct forms or phenotypes occur within the same population or species. Monomorphism can reflect recent divergence, stabilizing selection, or ecological uniformity across the environment.

In population genetics, a locus is described as monomorphic when all individuals carry the same allele, indicating no genetic variation at that position in the population. A locus is polymorphic when two or more alleles are present, contributing to genetic diversity and potential differential traits.

In microbiology, monomorphic bacteria maintain a uniform cell shape under standard conditions, whereas pleomorphic bacteria can change shape. Monomorphic shapes include cocci (spherical) and bacilli (rod-shaped); pleomorphic examples include certain Corynebacterium and other genera that vary in size or form.

In computer science, monomorphic code is written to handle a single data type, in contrast with polymorphic or generic code that operates on multiple types. Some languages employ monomorphization to create specialized, type-specific versions of generic functions, enabling optimized performance at the cost of reduced generality.