apomixis

ap·o·mix·is  (p-mkss)

n.

Reproduction without meiosis or formation of gametes.

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[apo- + Greek mixis, a mingling (from mignunai, mig-, to mingle; see meik- in Indo-European roots).]

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apomixis  (p-mkss)

The development of an embryo without the occurrence of fertilization. Parthenogenesis is one form of apomixis. In plants, another form of apomixis also occurs, in which the embryo develops from the somatic cells of the ovule surrounding the embryo sac, not from the egg cell within the embryo sac itself. Such embryos are clones of the parent plant, and valuable cultivars of plants such as the fig are propagated using seeds produced through this kind of apomixis.

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apomixis

any of several processes of asexual reproduction. Cf. parthenogenesis.

See also: Biology

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

apomixis - any of several kinds of reproduction without fertilization apogamy - (botany) development of an embryo without fertilization; especially the development in some ferns of a sporophyte from the gametophyte without fertilization agamogenesis, asexual reproduction - reproduction without the fusion of gametes parthenocarpy - (botany) the development of a fruit without fertilization or seeds parthenogenesis, parthenogeny - process in which an unfertilized egg develops into a new individual; common among insects and some other arthropods