The phrase "as a germ" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used in contexts discussing the origin or initial stage of something, often metaphorically to indicate a small beginning that can grow into something larger.
Example: "The idea for the project started as a germ in my mind, but it quickly developed into a full-fledged plan."
Alternatives: "as a seed" or "as a spark".
As a germ killer itself, saliva has few rivals.
Magie had described marriage as "a germ" and likened it to "a disease".
I began to suspect that whatever was wrong with me wasn't going to be as clear-cut as a germ or a malfunctioning organ.
UV light is already used as a germ killer, but conventional UV light can penetrate and damage the skin and also cause cataracts.
But "Petrouchka" may have served as a germ for "Eh Joe," which is a far more brilliant and harrowing, if stranger, work.
Until recently, Ames was seen as a germ that had an uncertain origin in nature and was locked away in several laboratories around the country.
I grew up with a grandmother who regarded each piece of meat as a germ-infested time bomb ready to unleash disease, so well-done was the family gold standard.
What emerges is Ms. Blair's portrait of her subject as a germ-phobic anti-Gatsby: "He had no desire to pass for old money himself and considered most of those who benefited from it to be phonies; likewise he was not at all reticent about how he made his money but took every opportunity to boast about just how clever he had been.
One possibility is to clarify what counts as a "germ-line" replicator and a rejection of the notion that extremely low mutation rates are inherent in all selection processes.
Although CB functions remain to be fully apprehended, its enrichment in RNAs and RBPs has led to the proposal that the CB acts as a germ-cell-specific centre for mRNA storage and processing [10], [11].
We report a constitutional point mutation of codon 278 in exon 8 of the TP53 gene that has not yet been described as a germ-line mutation.
