noun
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a small asexual spore produced by some bacteria and algae
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the innermost wall of a spore or pollen grain
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A rounded, inactive form that certain bacteria assume under conditions of extreme temperature, dryness, or lack of food. The bacterium develops a waterproof cell wall that protects it from being dried out or damaged. Bacteria have been known to remain dormant but alive in the form of endospores for long periods of time, even thousands of years.
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Also called endosporium
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of endospore
Vocabulary lists containing endospore
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When induced into forming an endospore the bacteria can survive the harsh conditions inside concrete, lying dormant until called into action.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 8, 2023
While this is happening, the bacteria are activated from their endospore form in the presence of carbon and a nutrient source in the concrete.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 8, 2023
In times of —when nutrition is scarce, for example— forms an endospore: a resilient, dehydrated version of its former self.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 3, 2013
The endospore is thick and composed of several layers, colourless, and covered with warts, which correspond and fit into those of the epispore.
From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt) Cooke
The oospores of the Saprolegniæ, when arrived at maturity, possess a tolerably thick double integument, consisting of an epispore and an endospore.
From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt) Cooke
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
