ploidy

Definition

The number of sets of chromosomes in the nucleus of a biological cell.

Etymology

Derived from the Greek word 'ploos' meaning 'fold' (as in 'twofold'), combined with the suffix '-oid' to denote a state or condition. It was originally formed in biology to describe the number of chromosome sets in a cell.

In the news

In this article, the term appears when discussing how hybridization can occur without changing an organism's chromosome set count (ploidy level), and it is used to distinguish different types of evolutionary processes, such as polyploidy.

Genetics and genomics of hybridization

Nature

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