zoospore

American  

[zoh-uh-spawr, -spohr] / ˈzoʊ əˌspɔr, -ˌspoʊr /

noun

1. Botany, Mycology. an asexual spore produced by certain algae and some fungi, capable of moving about by means of flagella.

2. Zoology. any of the minute motile flagelliform or ameboid bodies that issue from the sporocyst of certain protozoans.

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zoospore British  

/ ˈzəʊəˌspɔː, zəʊˈɒspərəs, ˌzəʊəˈspɔːrəs /

noun

1. an asexual spore of some algae and fungi that moves by means of flagella

2. one of several spores produced in a saclike body (sporocyst) by some parasitic protozoans

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zoospore Scientific  

/ zō′ə-spôr /

1. A motile flagellated spore that serves as a means of asexual reproduction among certain algae, fungi, and protoctists.

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Other Word Forms

• zoosporic adjective
• zoosporous adjective

Etymology

Origin of zoospore

First recorded in 1840–50; zoo- + spore

Explanation

In biology, a zoospore is a tiny, seed-like cell that propels itself using a long appendage called a flagellum. Some types of bacteria and fungi have zoospores, whose mobility helps them reproduce more efficiently. For some organisms, like moss, mushrooms, and ferns, tiny spores are the way they reproduce. A zoospore is simply a type of spore that can move around on its own, using its whip-like tail as a propeller. If you take a biology class, you might learn about protozoans and fungi that use zoospores to propagate themselves. This word is formed by adding the prefix zoo-, "animal or living being," to spore, from the Greek spora, or "seed."

Example Sentences

No. 4 represents a longitudinal section of Potato-stalk with germinating zoospore, the germ-tube of which has pierced the cell-wall, and is growing inside the cell, as shown at +.

From The Culture of Vegetables and Flowers From Seeds and Roots 16th Edition by Sutton and Sons

Rejuvenescence gives rise to a swarm-spore or zoospore.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 531, March 6, 1886 by Various

Only one genus, Monoblepharis, can certainly be placed here, though a somewhat similar genus, Myrioblepharis, with a peculiar multiciliate zoospore like that of Vaucheria, is provisionally placed in the same group.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3 "Frost" to "Fyzabad" by Various

Each of these, when free, immediately takes the form of a perfect zoospore, and commences to agitate itself.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)

It is remarkable that Mr. Darwin brings forward in support of gemmule fission, the observation that "Thuret has seen the zoospore of an alga divide itself, and both halves germinate."

From On the Genesis of Species by Mivart, St. George