gemmule

American  

[jem-yool] / ˈdʒɛm jul /

noun

1. Botany. gemma.

2. Zoology. an asexually produced mass of cells that is capable of developing into an animal, as a freshwater sponge.

3. Evolution. one of the hypothetical living units conceived by Darwin in the theory of pangenesis as the bearers of the hereditary attributes.

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gemmule British  

/ ˈdʒɛmjuːl /

noun

1. zoology a cell or mass of cells produced asexually by sponges and developing into a new individual; bud

2. botany a small gemma

3. a small hereditary particle postulated by Darwin in his theory of pangenesis

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gemmule Scientific  

/ jĕm′yo̅o̅l /

1. A small gemma or similar structure, especially a reproductive structure in some sponges that remains dormant through the winter and later develops into a new individual.

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Etymology

Origin of gemmule

1835–45; < French < Latin gemmula. See gemma, -ule

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gemmule

In 1883, with rather grim determination, the German embryologist August Weismann had performed an experiment that directly attacked Darwin's gemmule theory of heredity.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Microscleres Smaller spicules that lie free in the substance or the derma of the sponge, or are associated with the gemmule.

From Freshwater Sponges, Hydroids & Polyzoa by Annandale, Nelson

It has also been assumed that the development of each gemmule depends on its union with another cell or unit which has just commenced its development, and which precedes it in due order of growth.

From The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication — Volume 2 by Darwin, Charles

Some zoologists are therefore of the opinion that the development of the gemmule is an instance of parthenogenesis—that is to say of an organism arising from an egg that has not been fertilized.

From Freshwater Sponges, Hydroids & Polyzoa by Annandale, Nelson

Each gemmule surrounded more or less distinctly by a circle or several circles of flesh-spicules.

From Freshwater Sponges, Hydroids & Polyzoa by Annandale, Nelson