oogonium
/ˌəʊəˈɡəʊnɪəm
/noun (plural oogonia)
1 Botany The female sex organ of certain algae and fungi, typically a rounded cell or sac containing one or more oospheres.‘Oomycota’ means ‘egg fungi,’ and refers to the large round oogonia, or structures containing the female gametes, as shown in this picture of the common ‘water mold’ Saprolegnia....
- The parent also contains antheridia which produce sperm and an oogonium which produces the egg.
- Further comparison might be made between the stalked and vase-shaped vesicles found on some fossil cells with the oogonia of certain living Vaucheria species.
2 Biology An immature female reproductive cell that gives rise to primary oocytes by mitosis.In most crustaceans, the production of primary oocytes derived from oogonia continues throughout adult life....
- The oogonia multiply by mitosis, but early in fetal life, they enter meiosis.
- In the case of developing eggs, the diploid oogonia continue to divide mitotically for a short time in the ovary.
Origin
Mid 19th century: from oo- 'of an egg' + Greek gonos 'generation' + -ium.