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Ascospore
 
 
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An ascospore is a spore
Spore

In biology, a spore is a reproduction structure that is adapted for biological dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions....
 contained in an ascus
Ascus

An ascus is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in Ascomycota fungi. On average, asci normally contain 8 ascospores, produced by a meiosis cell division followed, in most species, by a mitosis cell division....
 or that was produced inside an ascus. This kind of spore is specific to fungi classified as ascomycetes (Ascomycota
Ascomycota

The Ascomycota are a Phylum of the kingdom Fungi, and subkingdom Dikarya, whose members are commonly known as the Sac Fungi. They are the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 30,000 species....
).

Typically, a single ascus will contain eight ascospores. The eight spores are produced by a combination of a meiosis
Meiosis

In biology or life science, meiosis is a process of reductional division in which the number of chromosomes per cell is halved. In animals, meiosis always results in the formation of gametes, while in other organisms it can give rise to spores....
 division followed by a mitotic
Mitosis

Mitosis is the process in which a eukaryotic cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, into two identical sets in two daughter nuclei....
 division. The meiosis division turns the original diploid zygote
Zygote

A zygote is a cell that is the result of fertilization. That is, two ploidy cells—usually an ovum from a female and a sperm cell from a male—merge into a single ploidy cell called the zygote ....
 nucleus into four haploid ones.






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An ascospore is a spore
Spore

In biology, a spore is a reproduction structure that is adapted for biological dispersal and surviving for extended periods of time in unfavorable conditions....
 contained in an ascus
Ascus

An ascus is the sexual spore-bearing cell produced in Ascomycota fungi. On average, asci normally contain 8 ascospores, produced by a meiosis cell division followed, in most species, by a mitosis cell division....
 or that was produced inside an ascus. This kind of spore is specific to fungi classified as ascomycetes (Ascomycota
Ascomycota

The Ascomycota are a Phylum of the kingdom Fungi, and subkingdom Dikarya, whose members are commonly known as the Sac Fungi. They are the largest phylum of Fungi, with over 30,000 species....
).

Typically, a single ascus will contain eight ascospores. The eight spores are produced by a combination of a meiosis
Meiosis

In biology or life science, meiosis is a process of reductional division in which the number of chromosomes per cell is halved. In animals, meiosis always results in the formation of gametes, while in other organisms it can give rise to spores....
 division followed by a mitotic
Mitosis

Mitosis is the process in which a eukaryotic cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, into two identical sets in two daughter nuclei....
 division. The meiosis division turns the original diploid zygote
Zygote

A zygote is a cell that is the result of fertilization. That is, two ploidy cells—usually an ovum from a female and a sperm cell from a male—merge into a single ploidy cell called the zygote ....
 nucleus into four haploid ones. That is, the single original cell from which the whole process begins contains two complete sets of chromosome
Chromosome

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and protein that is found in Cell . A chromosome is a single piece of DNA that contains many genes, regulatory sequence and other genetic sequence....
s. In preparation for meiosis, all the DNA
DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetics instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses....
 of both sets is duplicated, to make a total of four sets. The nucleus that contains the four sets divides in two stages, separating into four new nuclei - each of which has one complete set of chromosomes. Following this process, each of the four new nuclei duplicates its DNA and undergoes a division by mitosis. As a result, the ascus will contain four pairs of spores.

The Fungi Saccharomyces
Saccharomyces

Saccharomyces is a genus in the kingdom of fungus that includes many species of yeast. Saccharomyces is from Latin meaning sugar fungi....
 produces ascospores when grown on V-8 medium, acetate ascospor agar, or Gorodkowa medium. These ascospores are globose and located in asci. Each ascus contains 1-4 ascospores. The asci do not rupture at maturity. Ascospores are stained with Kinyoun stain and ascospore stain. When stained with Gram stain, ascospores are gram-negative while vegetative cells are gram-positive