haploid

views updated May 17 2018

hap·loid / ˈhapˌloid/ Genetics • adj. (of a cell or nucleus) having a single set of unpaired chromosomes. Compare with diploid. ∎  (of an organism or part) composed of haploid cells.• n. a haploid organism or cell.DERIVATIVES: hap·loi·dy n.

haploid

views updated Jun 08 2018

haploid Term describing a cell that has only one member of each chromosome pair. All human cells except gametes are diploid, having 46 chromosomes. Gametes are haploid, having 23 chromosomes. The body cells of many lower organisms, including many algae and single-celled organisms, are haploid. See also alternation of generations; meiosis

haploid

views updated May 29 2018

haploid Applied to a cell nucleus that contains one of each type of chromosome, i.e. one set of chromosomes, designated n. Gametes are haploid, in contrast with most somatic cells, which usually have some multiple of this number, usually 2n (diploid), but sometimes 3n (triploid), 4n (tetraploid), or many-n (polyploid). A haploid cell thus has only one chromosome set, and a haploid organism contains only haploid cells.

haploid

views updated May 29 2018

haploid Describing a nucleus, cell, or organism with a single set of unpaired chromosomes. The haploid number is designated as n. Reproductive cells, formed as a result of meiosis, are haploid. Fusion of two such cells (see fertilization) restores the normal (diploid) number.

haploid

views updated May 29 2018

haploid (monoploid) (hap-loid) adj. describing cells, nuclei, or organisms with a single set of unpaired chromosomes. In humans the gametes are haploid following meiosis. Compare diploid, triploid.
haploid n.

haploid

views updated May 14 2018

haploid Applied to the number of chromosomes in a gamete and conventionally symbolized by n. In somatic (i.e. non-sex) cells, the number of chromosomes is usually some multiple of this number (e.g. diploid 2n, triploid 3n, or tetraploid 4n, but sometimes polyploid many-n).