noun
- Organisms that are haploid during most of their life cycle, with the diploid stage limited to the zygote; characteristic of many fungi and algae.
Usage: biology; plural of haplont; technical term used in genetics and evolutionary biology
Examples
- Many fungi are haplonts, spending most of their life in the haploid state.
- Haplonts differ from diplonts in that they have only one set of chromosomes for the majority of their life cycle.
- In haplonts, meiosis occurs immediately after fertilization, producing haploid spores.
- Bread molds are examples of haplonts commonly studied in biology classes.
- The life cycle of haplonts is dominated by the haploid generation rather than the diploid.