ascogonium

[as-kuh-goh-nee-uhm]

noun

Mycology.

plural

ascogonia 

1. the female sexual organ in certain ascomycetous fungi.

2. the portion of the archicarp in certain ascomycetous fungi that receives the antheridial nuclei and puts out the hyphae bearing the asci.

ascogonium

/ ˌæskəˈɡəʊnɪəm /

noun

1. a female reproductive body in some ascomycetous fungi in which, after fertilization, the asci develop

Other Word Forms

• ascogonial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ascogonium¹

First recorded in 1870–75; asco- + -gonium

Example Sentences

The ordinary mycelium is the gametophyte since it bears the ascogonia and antheridia when present; the ascogenous hyphae with their asci represent the sporophyte since they are derived from the fertilized ascogonium.

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In all these cases the ascogonium and antheridium contain numerous nuclei; they are to be looked upon as gametangia in which there is no differentiation of gametes, and since they act as single gametes they are termed coenogametes.

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E, F, Sections of young perithecia. w, Parietal cells. f, Pseudo-parenchyma. as, Ascogonium.

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The cytological details of development of the perithecia are not well known; most of them appear to develop their ascogenous hyphae in an apogamous way without any connexion with an ascogonium.

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The matter is complicated by the apogamous transition from gametophyte to sporophyte in the absence of the ascogonium; also by the fact that there are normally two fusions in the life-history as mentioned earlier.

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