Main Entry: chro·mo·some

Pronunciation: \ˈkrō-mə-ˌsōm, -ˌzōm\

Function: noun

: any of the usually linear bodies of the cell nucleus of eukaryotic organisms, the usually circular bodies of prokaryotic organisms (as bacteria), or especially in some schools of molecular biology the genomes of DNA viruses (as bacteriophages) that take up basophilic stains and contain most or all of the genes of the organism <both the chromosomes of cells and those of viruses can duplicate only in the complex environment of a living cell—J. D. Watson> <an episome, an element that may exist as a free circular plasmid, or that may become integrated into the bacterial chromosome as a linear sequence—Benjamin Lewin>

[chromosome illustration]

—chro·mo·som·al \ˌkrō-mə-ˈsō-məl, -ˈzō-\ adjective

—chro·mo·som·al·ly \-mə-lē\ adverb