Spermatogamy
spermatogamy (noun,no plural) – the fusion of one or several male sex cells functioning as gametes with not with a single female sex cell but with an entire female gametangium. In ascomycetes male sex cells are immotile, spore-like sperm cells formed from hyphae called spermatiophores inside spermogonia. The female ascogonium is a swollen cell with an apical, beak-like projecting hypha, the trichogyne, This trichogyne acts as a receptor for the sperm cell. The sperm cell fuses with the tip of the trichogyne releasing its nucleus. The nucleus then travels down into the ascogonium. Asci are formed from ascogeneous hyphae that directly grow out of the ascogonium. This appears to be the most common process of sexual reproduction for filamentous ascomycetes.
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