apomixis

[ap-uh-mik-sis]

noun

Biology.

plural

apomixes 

1. any of several types of asexual reproduction, as apogamy or parthenogenesis.

apomixis

/ ˌæpəˈmɪksɪs /

noun

1. (esp in plants) any of several types of asexual reproduction, such as parthenogenesis and apogamy, in which fertilization does not take place Compare amphimixis

apomixis

1. The development of an embryo without the occurrence of fertilization. Parthenogenesis is one form of apomixis. In plants, another form of apomixis also occurs, in which the embryo develops from the somatic cells of the ovule surrounding the embryo sac, not from the egg cell within the embryo sac itself. Such embryos are clones of the parent plant, and valuable cultivars of plants such as the fig are propagated using seeds produced through this kind of apomixis.

Other Word Forms

• apomictic adjective
• apomictical adjective
• apomictically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of apomixis¹

1910–15; < New Latin < Greek apo- apo- + míxis a mixing, equivalent to mig ( nýnai ) to mix + -sis -sis

Word History and Origins

Origin of apomixis¹

C20: New Latin, from Greek _apo- + mixis a mixing

Example Sentences

If we could find a way to propagate crop plants by asexual reproduction through seeds -- known as apomixis -- it would revolutionize agriculture.

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A landmark accomplishment came from someone who didn’t set out to study apomixis.

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Sometimes apomixis is used only as a backup.

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In nature, some plant species reproduce clonally: The eggs inside their flowers become embryos without pollination, part of a process called apomixis—“away from mixing” in Greek.

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In 2019, an international team reported that it had successfully engineered a line of rice plants that could reproduce clonally—the first instance of synthetic apomixis in a crop.

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