polyembryony

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noun

The production of two or more embryos in one seed, due either to the existence and fertilization of more than one embryonic sac or to the origination of embryos outside of the embryonic sac.

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Meanings

nounpolyembryony (uncountable)
  1. uncountablebiologyThe production of two or more embryos in one seed, due either to the existence and fertilization of more than one embryonic sac or to the origination of embryos outside of the embryonic sac.

    By its nature, that is whether it develops with or without fertilization, simple polyembryony can be sexual or asexual.

    2012, B. M. Johri, Embryology of Angiosperms, →ISBN, page 447
    1 more example

    Polyembryony was first reported by Leeuwenhoek in citrus as early as 1719 and the different cases of polyembryony were studied by Braun in 1859.

    2014, Kishan Gopal Ramawat, Jean-Michel Mérillon, K. R. Shivanna, Reproductive Biology of Plants, →ISBN, page 356
  2. uncountablebiologyThe production of two or more embryos from a single fertilized egg.

    In all these groups cloning, where it occurs, must be through polyembryony or parthenogenesis.

    1989, Roger Neville Hughes, Functional Biology of Clonal Animals, →ISBN, page 90
    2 more examples

    Despite their utility in research, litters produced by polyembryony lack the advantages conferred by either asexual or sexual reproduction.

    2005, Roger E. Stevenson, Judith G. Hall, Human Malformations and Related Anomalies, →ISBN, page 1381

    One form of clonal reproduction begins when a fertilized egg divides a few times in the womb before initiating embryonic development. In humans, this can lead nine months later to the birth of identical (monozygotic) twins. This phenomenon, known as polyembryony, occurs sporadically in many mammal species. However, only in armadillos does polyembryony happen consistently, in each and every pregnancy.

    2014, John C. Avise, Genetics in the Wild, →ISBN

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
polyarch

Translations

French polyembryonie
  • polyembryonieTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

polyembryony. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyembryony

MLA

“polyembryony.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyembryony. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polyembryony,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polyembryony.

Source: polyembryony on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.