unreduced gametes
Non-halved reproductive cells
Unreduced gametes are reproductive cells that retain the full chromosome count of the parent organism rather than the usual half.
Normal gametes (sperm and eggs) undergo meiosis to become haploid, but unreduced gametes skip or fail this reduction, remaining diploid.
When they fuse during fertilization, the offspring has extra chromosome sets—a major pathway to polyploidy in plants: The triploid watermelon arose from unreduced gametes.
- meiosisGamete-producing cell division
- diploidTwo complete chromosome sets
- chromosomeDNA strand carrying genes
- fertilizationGamete fusion creating zygote
- tetraploidHaving four chromosome sets
spindle · cell division · hybrid · speciation · triploid · doubling · fusion · egg · sperm · pollen · ovule · restitution · mitosis · genome · crossing · sterility · wheat · fern
- polyploidytetraploidy, genome duplication, chromosome doubling
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