ploidy

American  

[ploi-dee] / ˈplɔɪ di /

noun

Biology.

1. the number of homologous chromosome sets present in a cell or organism.

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Etymology

Origin of ploidy

First recorded in 1935–40; see origin at -ploid, -y ³

Example Sentences

An organism’s ploidy count is the total number of chromosome sets contained in each body cell.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

However, some plants are multiploid, meaning they can have ploidy levels greater than 2.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

For example, in the 1980s and 1990s ploidy in neuroblastoma48 and cytogenetic abnormalities in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia49 were used to determine the composition and strength of the cytotoxic chemotherapy required to treat these cancers.

From Nature • Oct. 13, 2015

As a result, it is impossible to split the assembled genome of into haploid sets: the apparent ploidy level of is scale-dependent, with a tetraploid structure at gene scale versus chromosome-scale haploidy.

From Nature • Aug. 21, 2013

The homologous chromosomes separate into different nuclei during meiosis I causing a reduction of ploidy level.

From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013