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polyploid

[ pol-ee-ploid ]

adjective

  1. having a chromosome number that is more than double the basic or haploid number.


noun

  1. a polyploid cell or organism.

polyploid

/ ˈpɒlɪˌplɔɪd /

adjective

  1. (of cells, organisms, etc) having more than twice the basic (haploid) number of chromosomes
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. an individual or cell of this type
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

polyploid

/ pŏlē-ploid′ /

  1. Having more than two complete sets of chromosomes. Many plants that are polyploid, such as dandelions, are sterile but can reproduce by apomixis or other asexual means. Other polyploid plants are fertile. For example, durum wheat ( Triticum turgidum durum ), which is used to make pasta, is tetraploid (it has four sets of chromosomes), while bread wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) is hexaploid (six sets of chromosomes). Polyploid plants, if viable, are often larger or more productive than diploid plants, and plant breeders often deliberately produce such plants by crossing species or other means. In the animal kingdom, polyploidy is abnormal and often fatal.


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Derived Forms

  • ˌpolyˈploidal, adjective
  • ˈpolyˌploidy, noun
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Other Words From

  • poly·ploidic adjective
  • poly·ploidy noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of polyploid1

First recorded in 1915–20; poly- + -ploid

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