synergid

American  

[si-nur-jid, sin-er-] / sɪˈnɜr dʒɪd, ˈsɪn ər- /

noun

Botany.

1. one of two small cells that lie inside the embryo sac of a flowering plant and nourish the ovum.

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synergid Scientific  

/ sĭ-nûr′jĭd,sĭn′ər- /

1. One of two small, short-lived nuclei lying near the egg in the mature embryo sac of a flowering plant. The synergids are part of the egg apparatus and are thought to help the pollen nucleus reach the egg cell for fertilization.

2. See more at egg apparatus embryo sac

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Usage

What does synergid mean? A synergid is a small cell within the embryo sac of a plant. A plant will have two synergids to help the pollen of another plant reach the ovum (egg) of the synergids’ plant. Almost all flowering plants reproduce through the fertilization of ovums. After pollen makes its way into a plant’s ovum, sperm cells are released into the embryo sac. One of the two synergids will accept a sperm cell, guiding it to its neighboring egg cell, fertilizing the cell that will become the embryo. After this fertilization, both synergids begin to degenerate so that they don’t attract sperm cells from other pollen. Example: We learned about synergids and the reproductive process of some plants in botany today.

Other Word Forms

• synergidal
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of synergid

First recorded in 1875–80; from Greek synerg(ós) “working together” + -id ² ( def. ); see synergism ( def. )

Example Sentences

Fertilization will not occur because the synergid is the egg.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015