Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
karyogamy

karyogamy

9.9
Two cell nuclei join to form one nucleus during sexual reproduction in fungi or yeast
  • noun
  • /ˌkɛəriˈɒɡəmi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cariogamia
  • The process of karyogamy is essential for the sexual reproduction of protists.

Examples

  • The process of karyogamy occurs when the nuclei of two gametes fuse to create a single nucleus.

  • Expression of OsWEE1 in rice zygotes at 6 h after gamete fusion is consistent with the putative cell cycle of the zygote, in which karyogamy is completed and DNA replication would start.

    Academic text (2018)

  • In many fungi, karyogamy is a crucial step that leads to the formation of a diploid organism.

Synonyms

syngamy
vskaryogamy
  • Specialized
9.9

Two sex cells, like an egg or sperm, join to make a new cell with genes from both parents

involves fusion only of nuclei within cells rather than whole cell fusion

Surface Forms

karyogamy singular
karyogamies plural

Morphology

karyogamy = karyo + gamy

The elements are specialized Greek combining forms ('karyo-' and '-gamy') found mainly in technical biology vocabulary, so an average B1 learner cannot infer the meaning from common English base words.

Etymology

The word karyogamy comes from Greek parts karyo- meaning 'kernel' or 'nucleus' and -gamy from gamos meaning 'marriage'. So karyogamy is like a 'marriage of nuclei', two cell nuclei joining to make one, which is exactly the process the word describes.