ascospore

American  

[as-kuh-spawr, -spohr] / ˈæs kəˌspɔr, -ˌspoʊr /

noun

Mycology.

1. a spore formed within an ascus.

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ascospore British  

/ ˈæskəˌspɔː /

noun

1. one of the spores (usually eight in number) that are produced in an ascus

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ascospore Scientific  

/ ăs′kə-spôr′ /

1. A sexually produced fungal spore formed within an ascus of ascomycetes. Ascospores have a haploid number of chromosomes and are formed by meiosis of the diploid zygote that results when the nuclei of sexually compatible hyphae fuse together. When an ascospore is released and lands in a place that is rich in nutrients, it germinates and sends out hyphae of its own.

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Other Word Forms

• ascosporic adjective
• ascosporous adjective

Etymology

Origin of ascospore

First recorded in 1870–75; asco- + spore

Example Sentences

Second, the wind plays a large part in local ascospore dissemination.

From Northern Nut Growers Association, Report of the Proceedings at the Third Annual Meeting Lancaster, Pennsylvania, December 18 and 19, 1912 by Northern Nut Growers Association

There is a winter spore stage, or technically, the ascospore stage, which comes, as a rule, later in the development of the fungus.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Second Annual Meeting Ithaca, New York, December 14 and 15, 1911 by Northern Nut Growers Association

Ascospore smooth or slightly wrinkled, free from the sides of the stem, attached at the tip of the stem, bell-shaped, thin; hymenium covering the entire surface of the ascospore; asci cylindrical, 8-spored.

From The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Its Habitat and its Time of Growth by Hard, Miron Elisha