Meiospores

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Reproductive cells produced by an organism through meiosis that develop into new individuals without fertilization ; specialized haploid spores formed from diploid cells to ensure genetic diversity in certain plants, fungi, and algae ; units of asexual reproduction arising via reduction division that give rise to gametophytes or equivalent stages in life cycles
2. Haploid cells generated by reduction division in organisms that grow into new beings independently; spores resulting from meiosis in plants and fungi serving as dispersal and reproductive units; specialized spores contributing to genetic variation through sexual life cycle stages
3. Cells created by halving chromosome number during meiotic division, used by many lower plants and fungi to form offspring; haploid spores capable of germinating into nutrient-gathering or reproductive phases; meiospores function as propagules ensuring species continuation and variation in life cycles

Etymology: "Meiospores" is the plural of "meiospore," a compound built from the prefix "meio-," from Greek "meion" meaning "less" or "smaller," and "spore." The "spore" half comes from Greek "spora," meaning "seed" or "sowing," a word that entered scientific use for the reproductive units of fungi, algae and plants. The "meio-" element is the key to the name. Meiosis is the cell division that halves the chromosome count, so a meiospore is a spore produced by that process, carrying only one set of chromosomes. The prefix marks it as a product of reduction, which sets it apart from the spores made by ordinary cell division.

Synonyms: sexual spores, haploid spores

Antonyms: mitospores, asexual spores