An organism with a chromosome set derived from two or more distinct parent species that contains doubled or multiple chromosome sets from hybrid ancestry.
From 'amphi-' (both) + 'ploid' (from Greek 'ploos' meaning folded/multiplied). Coined in 20th-century genetics to describe polyploid hybrids with chromosomes from diverse parent species.
An amphiploid is like biological Frankenstein—it combines DNA from two different species AND doubles all the chromosomes, which usually makes hybrids sterile but amphiploids often become super-fertile and create new species instantly.
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