isogamy

isogamy (īsog'umē) [key], in biology, a condition in which the sexual cells, or gametes, are of the same form and size and are usually indistinguishable from each other. Many algae and some fungi have isogamous gametes. In most sexual reproduction, as in mammals for example, the ovum is quite larger and of different appearance than the sperm cell. This condition is called anisogamy.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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