Xenogenesis (Noun)
Meaning
The alternation of two or more different forms in the life cycle of a plant or animal.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural phenomena.
Examples
- The life cycle of the coral alternated between a polypoid and medusoid stage, a classic example of xenogenesis.
- Xenogenesis was observed in the development of the protozoan parasite, which cycled through several distinct morphological forms.
- The parasite's xenogenesis involved a complex sequence of transformations, including amoeboid and flagellated stages.
- Biologists were fascinated by the xenogenesis exhibited by certain species of flatworms, which could assume multiple reproductive modes.
- The study of xenogenesis in certain species of fungi revealed the existence of multiple, genetically distinct forms that interacted and influenced one another.