Definition
idioplasms
noun
- Plural of idioplasm; the protoplasm of a cell nucleus, especially the part believed to carry hereditary material.
Usage: biology; archaic or technical; largely superseded by modern genetic terminology
Examples
- Early biologists theorized that idioplasms within the nucleus controlled hereditary traits.
- The concept of idioplasms was important in 19th-century theories of inheritance before the discovery of DNA.
- Weismann's work on idioplasms contributed to the development of modern genetics.