Fidel Priestonn,
39 Bartok Bela korut Szombathely,
Szombathely 9700
Hungary
Last updated: October 14, 2010
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamete
A gamete (from Ancient Greek γαμέτης; translated gamete = wife, gametes = husband) is a cell that fuses with another gamete during fertilization (conception) in organisms that reproduce sexually. In species that produce two morphologically distinct types of gametes, and in which each individual produces only one type, a female is any individual that produces the larger type of gamete — called an ovum (or egg) — and a male produces the smaller tadpole-like type — called a sperm. This is an example of anisogamy or heterogamy, the condition wherein females and males produce gametes of different sizes (this is the case in humans; the human ovum is approximately 20 times larger than the human sperm cell). In contrast, isogamy is the state of gametes from both sexes being the same size and shape, and given arbitrary designators for mating type. The name gamete was introduced by the Austrian biologist Gregor Mendel. Gametes carry half the genetic information of an individual, 1n of each type.
In humans, an ovum can carry only an X chromosome (of the X and Y chromosomes), whereas a sperm may carry either an X or a Y; hence, it has been suggested that males have the control of the sex of any resulting zygote, as the genotype of the sex-determining chromosomes of a male is XY, and a female's is XX. In other words, because the Y chromosome can only be present in the sperm, it is that gamete alone which can determine whether an offspring will be a male or female.
Index of articles, click here.
Fidel Priestonn,
39 Bartok Bela korut Szombathely,
Szombathely 9700
Hungary
Last updated: October 14, 2010