Practice question

In some fungi, karyogamy (nuclear fusion) immediately follows plasmogamy. However, the NCERT textbook explicitly highlights that in Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes, an extended intervening 'dikaryotic stage' occurs. In this fascinating phase, a single cell contains two distinct haploid nuclei (n + n), a condition termed a dikaryon. The parental nuclei fuse much later to eventually form a diploid cell before meiosis occurs.