GAMETOGENESIS

Find Out How the Gametogenesis

Process Works

Gametes Definition
1. What are gametes?
Gametes are cells specialized in sexual reproduction. They
contain half of the maximum number of chromosomes of the
species and unite with another gamete to give birth to a zygote
with double of number of chromosomes of the gametic cells.
In humans, gametes are formed by meiosis; male gametes are
sperm cells and female gametes are egg cells.
 Gametogenesis Review - Image Diversity: sperm
cells egg cells
 Meiosis and Gametogenesis
More Bite-Sized Q&As Below
2. What type of cell division permits
sexual reproduction? What is
gametogenesis?
Meiosis is the type of cell division that allows sexual
reproduction, since it reduces the number of chromosomes of
the species to a half, making the combination of two gametes to
form a new individual possible. (In some organisms, meiosis
creates haploid gametophytes that by means of mitosis
generate gametes. Even in this case, the function of meiosis is
the same: to provide cells with half of the number of
chromosomes of the species, with the separation of
homologous.)
Gametogenesis is the name given to the process of gamete
production.
 Gametogenesis Review - Image Diversity: meiosis
Select any question to share it on FB or Twitter

Just select (or double-click) a question to share. Challenge your Facebook and Twitter friends.

Gonads and Germ Cells

3. What is the name of the cells
capable of making gametes? What is
the ploidy of these gamete-forming
cells?
The cells that form gametes are germ cells, as opposed to
somatic cells. The ploidy (number of chromosomes) of germ
cells is the same as somatic cells (only during the formation of
gametes does meiosis occur, reducing the number of
chromosomes to half).
 Gametogenesis Review - Image Diversity: germ
cells

4. What are gonads? What are the

male and the female gonads in
humans?
Gonads are the organs that produce gametes. They contain
germ cells that undergo division and generate gametes. In
males, the gonads are the testicles. In females, the gonads are
the ovaries.
 Gametogenesis Review - Image Diversity: gonads

Spermatogenesis
5. Indicating the name and respective
ploidy of each cell involved, how can
the formation of sperm cells from
germ cells be described?
The formation of sperm cells, or spermatogenesis, begins with a
germ cell called the spermatogonium (2n), which undergoes
mitosis and gives birth to the spermatocyte I (2n). The
spermatocyte I undergoes meiosis I and generates two
spermatocyte II (n) cells, which then undergo meiosis II and
produce four spermatids (n). Each spermatid undergoes a
maturation process called spermiogenesis and four sperm cells
are produced.
 Gametogenesis Review - Image
Diversity: spermatogenesis

6. What is the difference between

spermatogonium and spermatocyte I
cells?1
The male germ cells are spermatogonia (diploid cells, 2n),which
are located in the testicles. They mature and by means of
mitosis give birth to spermatocytes I (2n), which will undergo
meiosis.

7. What is the difference between

spermatocyte I and spermatocyte II
cells?
The spermatocyte I (2n) undergoes the first division of meiosis
(meiosis I), producing two spermatocyte II (haploid, n) cells.

8. What is the difference between

spermatocyte II and spermatid cells?
Spermatids (n) are the products of the second division of
meiosis (meiosis II) during male gametogenesis. Each
spermatocyte II produces two spermatids, totaling four
spermatids for each spermatocyte I that undergoes meiosis.

Spermiogenesis
9. What is the difference between
spermatids and sperm cells? What is
the name given to the transformation
of spermatids into sperm cells?
Sperm cells (male gametes) are mature spermatids that have
already undergone differentiation (the appearance of the
flagellum, the reduction of the cytoplasm, the formation of the
acrosome, the increase in the number of mitochondria). This
differentiation process is called spermiogenesis.
 Gametogenesis - Image Diversity: spermiogenesis

10. What is the acrosome of the sperm

cell? How is it formed?
The acrosome is a structure that contains a large number of
digestive enzymes. It is located at the anterior end of the sperm
cell and is formed through the union of Golgi apparatus
vesicles. The function of the acrosome is to release its enzymes
when the sperm cell meets the egg cell to break the external
covering of the female gamete, thus making fertilization
possible.
11. What is the function of the
flagellum of the sperm cell? How is it
formed?
The flagellum of the sperm cell is formed of the centrioles that
migrate to the region posterior to the nucleus. Its function is to
promote locomotion towards the egg cell.

12. Why is the cytoplasm of sperm

cells very small? Why do the
mitochondria of sperm cells
concentrate at the base of the
flagellum?
The reduced cytoplasm of sperm cells decreases the cell weight
and provides a more hydrodynamic shape for its locomotion in
fluids.
The high concentration of mitochondria at the base of the
flagellum of the sperm cell is necessary for supplying energy to
the flagellum (for it to vibrate and move the sperm cell).

Oogenesis
13. Concerning events during the
periods of life, how different is
gametogenesis in women and in men?
The formation of spermatogonia in men takes place during the
embryonic period. However, the formation of sperm cells is a
continuous process that begins in puberty and goes on until old
age, and sometimes during the whole life of the man.
In women, all oogonia are formed before birth. The oogonia turn
into oocytes I, which enter the first division of meiosis (meiosis
I). However, this division is interrupted at prophase and
continues only in puberty. After the beginning of menses, an
egg cell is released during each period and, if fertilized, it
finishes its meiotic division. Oogenesis stops after menopause
(cessation of menstrual activity) and the climacteric period of life
begins.

14. Indicating the name and respective

ploidy of each cell involved, how can
the formation of egg cells from germ
cells be described?
The formation of egg cells begins with a germ cell called an
oogonium (2n), which undergoes mitosis and gives birth to the
oocyte I (2n). The oocyte I undergoes meiosis I, but this is
interrupted at prophase. After puberty, during each menstrual
cycle, an oocyte I finishes meiosis I and generates one oocyte II
(n) and the first polar body (n). With fertilization, the oocyte II
then undergoes meiosis II and produces the mature egg cell (n)
and the second polar body (n).
 Gametogenesis Review - Image
Diversity: oogenesis
15. What is the first polar body? How
different is it from an oocyte II?
In oogenesis, the oogonium differentiates into an oocyte I (2n)
and this cell undergo meiosis. After finishing the first meiotic
division (meiosis I), the oocyte I forms two cells: the oocyte II (n)
and the first polar body. The oocyte II is bigger because it
receives almost all the cytoplasm and the cytoplasmic
structures of the oocyte I as a strategy for metabolite and
nutrient storage. The oocyte II cell then undergoes the second
meiotic division. The first polar body is very small and has
almost no cytoplasm; it either disintegrates or stays attached to
the oocyte II.

16. What is the relationship between

fertilization and the end of the meiotic
process during oogenesis?
The oocyte II only completes the second meiotic division
(interrupted at metaphase) if fertilization by a male gamete
occurs. (Therefore, it can be said that the female gamete is the
oocyte II).

17. What is the second polar body?

After the end of the second meiotic division of the oocyte II, two
cells are generated: the egg cell and the second polar body.
The second polar body is a very small cell that has almost no
cytoplasm and which stays adnexal to the egg cell. The entire
cytoplasmic content of the oocyte II passes on to the egg cell.
 Ovulation
18. What is the relationship between
the menstrual cycle and ovulation?
Ovulation is the releasing of the female gamete from the ovary.
Ovulation is a periodical event that occurs during each
menstrual cycle. Considering the day when menses begins the
first day of the menstrual cycle , ovulation occurs around the
14th day, when the concentrations of the hormones LH and
FSH reach high levels.

Fertilization
19. How does the male gamete
penetrate the egg cell? How does the
female gamete protect itself from the
entrance of more gametes after the
entrance of the first sperm cell?
The sperm cell that reaches the egg cell first triggers the
acrosome reaction, a process in which hydrolytic enzymes of
the acrosome are released on the external surface of the zona
pellucida (the protective layer that surrounds the egg cell). A
portion of this layer is digested by the acrosomal enzymes,
allowing the sperm cell to reach the plasma membrane of the
egg cell, thus fertilizing it.
At the moment that the sperm cell makes contact with the egg
cell membrane, a chemical alteration of this membrane occurs.
Enzymes secreted by exocytosis (a cortical reaction) make it
impossible for the zona pellucida to bind to other sperm cells
(zonal reaction) and, as a result, other male gametes cannot
enter the egg cell.
 Gametogenesis Review - Image
Diversity: acrosome reaction

20. What are the female pronucleus

and the male pronucleus?
The female pronucleus is the haploid nucleus of the egg cell.
the male pronucleus is the haploid nucleus of the sperm cell
that has fertilized the egg cell. After fertilization, both pronuclei
fuse, forming the nucleus of the diploid zygote.

21. Concerning their size and basic

morphology, how and why are male
and female gametes different from
each other?
Female gametes are large cells full of vitellus (nutritional
materials). Male gametes are small, mobile and agile flagellate
cells.
These features are related to their respective biological
functions. While female gametes have the basic functions of
receiving the sperm cell nucleus and storing nutrients for the
zygote, male gametes have the function of active movement
towards the egg cell.