pseudogamous

Pseudogamy is a reproductive strategy primarily described in plants in which the embryo develops asexually, but fertilization is required to trigger the development of the endosperm, the nutritive tissue of the seed. In pseudogamous systems, the offspring are typically clonal with respect to the maternal genome, while the paternal genome is contributed to the endosperm.

Mechanism involves apomictic embryo formation without fertilization of the egg cell, paired with fertilization of the central cell by pollen to initiate endosperm development. The paternal genome may become part of the endosperm, influencing seed viability through dosage effects, but the embryo itself usually contains only maternal genetic material. The exact genetic outcomes can vary with species and ploidy level.

Occurrence and significance are most often discussed in the context of angiosperms that exhibit apomixis. Pseudogamy allows seed production without sexual recombination of the embryo, preserving maternal lineages while still requiring pollination to form endosperm. This mode has implications for population genetics, adaptation, and the evolution of mixed reproductive strategies. It is distinct from obligate sexual reproduction and from true apomixis where the endosperm need not be fertilized, as well as from animal systems described as gynogenesis in which fertilization activates development but paternal DNA is not retained in the offspring.