mycetocyten.
/mʌɪˈsiːtə(ʊ)sʌɪt/, U.S. /maɪˈsidəˌsaɪt/ Entomology.
Any of the large cells found in certain insects, esp. homopteran bugs and bird lice, which contain symbiotic microorganisms, usually yeasts or bacteria, and sometimes form a distinct organ (a mycetome).
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > parts of insects > [noun] > specialized cell > cell containing micro-organisms or mycetocyte
mycetocyte1923
1923 Amer. Naturalist 57 465 Cases occur..where symbiotic bacteria are found in special cells greatly resembling fat cells but already forming well differentiated Mycetocytes.
1946 E. A. Steinhaus Insect Microbiol. iv. 198 The number of mycetocytes present in each individual aphid ranges from about 60 to 70.
1973 W. S. Romoser Sci. of Entomol. iii. 72 In some insects..specialized cells, mycetocytes, and the tissues composed of these cells, mycetomes, can be found associated with the gut, fat body, or, appropriately, the gonads.
1987 H. J. Phaff & W. T. Starmer in A. H. Rose & J. S. Harrison Yeasts (ed. 2) I. v. 167 The yeasts occur in cells (mycetocytes) of mycetomes (evaginations of the mid gut), in epithelial cells lining the alimentary tract or in cells of other parts of the insect's body.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1923