self-fertilization

[self-fur-tl-uh-zey-shuhn, self-]

noun

1. Botany.,  fertilization of an ovum of a plant by a male gamete from the same flower (cross-fertilization ).

2. Zoology.,  fertilization of the ovum of a hermaphroditic animal by a sperm from the same individual, as in some species of tapeworm.

self-fertilization

noun

1. fertilization in a plant or animal by the fusion of male and female gametes produced by the same individual Compare cross-fertilization

self-fertilization

1. Fertilization that occurs when male and female gametes produced by the same organism unite. Self-fertilization occurs in many protozoans and invertebrate animals. It results from self-pollination in plants. Self-fertilization allows an isolated individual organism to reproduce but restricts the genetic diversity of a community.

2. Compare cross-fertilization

Other Word Forms

• self-fertilized adjective
• self-fertilizing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-fertilization¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Among a handful of species exist hermaphrodites capable of self-fertilization.

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The researchers tried to collect additional mushrooms in New Jersey and New York, where the fungus is spreading less quickly, but they didn’t find evidence of self-fertilization.

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For plants such as tomatoes and peppers, that must be done by hand, a truly laborious task, especially if the flower has to have its pollen parts removed first to avoid self-fertilization.

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The new move would be no surprise to Charles Darwin, who in 1876 suggested that flowers in places with few pollinators would likely engage in self-fertilization.

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Modern maize breeders have systematically reduced the effects of this constant mutational pressure through artificial selection and self-fertilization, which have exposed rare recessive variants in elite inbred lines5.

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