sexual conjugation

Genetics

• union of the male & female gametes of multicellular organisms followed by partion of the chromatin & formation of 2 new cells.
• sexual reproduction among protozoan ciliates
  • two ciliates fuse along part of their surfaces, their nuclei degenerate & divide, including one meiotic division
  • one of the resulting haploid nuclei passes from one cell to the other & fuses with the remaining haploid nucleus in the recipient cell
  • the protozoa then separate, undergo nuclear re-organization & subsequently divide by mitosis

More general terms

• conjugation