polyploid

American  

[pol-ee-ploid] / ˈpɒl iˌplɔɪd /

adjective

1. having a chromosome number that is more than double the basic or haploid number.

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noun

1. a polyploid cell or organism.

polyploid British  

/ ˈpɒlɪˌplɔɪd /

adjective

1. (of cells, organisms, etc) having more than twice the basic (haploid) number of chromosomes

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noun

1. an individual or cell of this type

polyploid Scientific  

/ pŏl′ē-ploid′ /

1. Having more than two complete sets of chromosomes. Many plants that are polyploid, such as dandelions, are sterile but can reproduce by apomixis or other asexual means. Other polyploid plants are fertile. For example, durum wheat (Triticum turgidum durum), which is used to make pasta, is tetraploid (it has four sets of chromosomes), while bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is hexaploid (six sets of chromosomes). Polyploid plants, if viable, are often larger or more productive than diploid plants, and plant breeders often deliberately produce such plants by crossing species or other means. In the animal kingdom, polyploidy is abnormal and often fatal.

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Other Word Forms

• polyploidal adjective
• polyploidic adjective
• polyploidy noun

Etymology

Origin of polyploid

First recorded in 1915–20; poly- + -ploid

Example Sentences

But there's just one thing: newly formed polyploid individuals of a plant species are usually completely or almost completely sterile and cannot be propagated easily.

From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2024

In a recent study, published in Science, the researchers show that the pollen tube does not grow properly in newly formed polyploid plants.

From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2024

The researchers then grow the diploid and polyploid versions side by side to track how they cope with stresses such as high salinity or large concentrations of heavy metals.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 23, 2023

As polyploid cells emerge as common and seemingly crucial, this once obscure topic is now bringing together cancer researchers, developmental biologists, evolutionary biologists, cell biologists, and agricultural scientists.

From Science Magazine • Aug. 23, 2023

We find numbers such as 32 representative of a polyploid situation.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the 43rd Annual Meeting Rockport, Indiana, August 25, 26 and 27, 1952 by Northern Nut Growers Association