self-fertilisation
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. The fertilization of a plant or animal by the fusion of male and female gametes produced by the same individual organism. This is a biological process where an organism's own sperm (or pollen) fertilizes its own eggs (or ovules), resulting in offspring that are genetically very similar to the single parent.
Usage
This term is used primarily in biological and botanical contexts to describe a specific mode of reproduction. * It is a technical, formal term. * It contrasts directly with "cross-fertilization."
Examples
- In Botany: Some plants, like peas and tomatoes, are capable of because their flowers contain both male and female reproductive parts.
- In Biology: The process of is common in many hermaphroditic invertebrates, such as certain species of tapeworms and snails.
- Scientific Observation: The biologist studied the rate of in the isolated population of flowers.
Advanced Usage
- "Self-fertilisation rate": A measure of how frequently self-fertilisation occurs within a population.
- The experiment aimed to determine the self-fertilisation rate under different environmental conditions.
- "Obligate self-fertilisation": A reproductive strategy where an organism can reproduce via self-fertilisation.
- Some parasitic worms have evolved obligate self-fertilisation.
Variants and Related Words
- Self-fertilization (noun): The American English spelling of the word.
- Self-fertilise / Self-fertilize (verb): The action of undergoing self-fertilisation.
- The flower can self-fertilise if no pollinators are present.
- Selfing (noun, informal/botany): A common shorthand term in genetics and botany for self-fertilisation.
- The genetic line was maintained through repeated selfing.
Synonyms
- Autogamy: A precise scientific synonym, especially used in botany and zoology.
- Self-pollination (specifically in flowering plants): Refers to the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of the same flower or a different flower on the same plant, which leads to self-fertilisation.
Antonyms
- Cross-fertilisation / Cross-fertilization: Fertilization by the union of male and female gametes from different individuals.
- Allogamy: Fertilization involving gametes from different individuals.
- Outcrossing: The mating of unrelated individuals.
Noun
- fertilization by the union of male and female gametes from the same individual