oogamous

1 9.9

A way of making new animals or plants where a large egg does not move and a small sperm swims

adjective
/ˈuːɡəˌməs/

Specialized

: oogámico

The process of oogamous reproduction is essential for the life cycle of many plant species.
oogamous organisms

Examples

In this article, we describe recent findings regarding the mechanisms of organelle genome transmission in asexually reproducing red algae, isogamous green algae, and isogamous and oogamous plants, in order of I-V in Figure 1.

Academic text (1996)
Green algae reproduce by oogamous methods, where a large non-motile egg is fertilized by a small motile sperm.
In oogamous reproduction, the sperm actively swims to the egg, leading to fertilization.

Synonyms

anisogamic

vsoogamous

Specialized

9.9

Sexual reproduction in which sex cells are different sizes or shapes, like large eggs and small sperm

refers to the specific case with a large non motile egg and small motile sperm

Surface Forms

oogamous positive

Morphology

oogamous = oogamy (semi-transparent) = oo + gamy + ous

Derived regularly from the technical noun 'oogamy' with the adjectival suffix '-ous', but the combining form 'oo-' (egg) is specialized biological vocabulary and may not be transparent to general learners.

Etymology

The word oogamous comes from Greek parts oo- meaning 'egg' and -gamous meaning 'marriage' or 'union', like the 'gamy' in monogamy. So oogamous describes reproduction where a large, still egg and a small, moving sperm join.