heterokaryon

American

[het-er-uh-kar-ee-on, -uhn] / ˌhɛt ər əˈkær iˌɒn, -ən /

noun

Biology.

a cell containing two or more nuclei of differing genetic constitutions.

heterokaryon British

/ ˌhɛtərəʊˈkærɪɒn /

noun

biology a fungal cell or mycelium containing two or more nuclei of different genetic constitution

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

heterokarya

plural

Etymology

Origin of heterokaryon

1940–45; hetero- ( def. ) + Greek káryon “nut, kernel”; cf. karyo-

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023