gamete
/ˈɡamiːt
/noun Biology
A mature haploid male or female germ cell which is able to unite with another of the opposite sex in sexual reproduction to form a zygote.Meiosis is the process by which diploid organisms produce haploid gametes capable of sexual reproduction....
- Zygotic embryogenesis in animals and plants starts with the fusion of the haploid female and male gametes, giving rise to a diploid zygote.
- Once within the gonads, the germ cells differentiate as either male or female gametes.
Derivatives
gametic
- These observations demonstrate that a mechanism contributed by the cytoplasm of the wild-type gametic cell recognizes abnormal-length flagella and restores length control.
- Several gametic and zygotic reproductive barriers were found in a cross between Japonica and Indica rice varieties.
- Simultaneous analysis of the haploid megagametophyte and diploid embryo in a seed allows the female and male gametic contributions to the zygote to be separated.
Origin
Late 19th century: from modern Latin gameta, from Greek gametē 'wife', gametēs 'husband', from gamos 'marriage'.