Female and male gamete

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Gametes are the cells responsible for humans we can reproduce. In the case of humans, we create two types of gametes: the ovum, which is created by females or women, and the sperm, which is created by males or men. Although their function is the same, eggs and sperm are very different. In biology it is said that eggs and sperm are not the same, if not complementary. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will review the definition of female gamete and male gamete and what differences are there between them. If you want to know more about what our sex cells are like, keep reading!

Index

1. What are gametes?
2. The ovum: female gamete
3. The sperm: male gamete
4. Differences between female and male gamete

The gametes are the sex cells produced by multicellular organisms (animals and plants mainly) in order to breed. These sex cells have different names depending on whether we are talking about animals or plants, but also depending on how they are generated by the female or male body. In the case of plants, the gamete created by female plants is called

In both animals and plants, the function of gametes is to carry the genetic information of one of the parents (female or male) to the other gamete to join (fertilization) and generate an organism product of the "mixture" of those two DNA. For this, gametes have a very important characteristic: they are haploid, that is, they have half the chromosomes of the cells in the rest of the body; in this way, when they are united by fertilization, they will form a zygote with the correct number of chromosomes.

So far all the common characteristics of all gametes. Although they have the same function, gametes have many differences depending on whether they are from one or another kingdom (animals or plants) but also depending on the sex of the individual that produces it. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will focus on gametes in animals: eggs and sperm.

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The female gamete of animals, including man, is called the ovum. The ovum is in charge of transmitting genetic information from the female or female organism to the future individual. Specifically, in humans, the ovum is a cell of the largest of the human body, with quite little mobility and more or less spherical in shape.

The ovules are generated through a process called oogenesis, with many steps and more or less complicated. If you want to know more about oogenesis you can visit our lesson Oogenesis: definition and summary. This process begins during the embryo stage but it is not until puberty, when the woman begins to be fertile, when an egg begins to be released every 28 days (ovulation).

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The male gamete of animals, including man, is called spermatozoon. The sperm is in charge of transferring the genetic information of the male or male individual to the future descendant. Specifically, in humans, sperm is an arrow-shaped cell and they are the only cells in the human body that have a flagellum, which helps them move quickly. If you want to know more about sperm you can take a look at our article Sperm: definition and function.

Sperm are created through a process called spermatogenesis, with several steps, although somewhat less complex than in the case of oogenesis. In this case, spermatogenesis begins in the man's puberty, when he begins to be fertile. At that moment, spermatogenesis begins to occur, which has a approximate duration of 74 days and it is also produced following a hormonal stimulus.

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Although their function is the same, as you have seen previously, eggs and sperm have a different shape and characteristics. For this reason, it is said that they are not the same, if not, complementary. Take for example its shape: the Ovum is a large cell e still, since its function is to accumulate yolk to feed the zygote during the first divisions; on the other hand the spermatozoon is a small cell, arrow-shaped and with a lot of mobility since its function is to find the ovum and fertilize it. Imagine if the sperm had to move and accumulate yolk, it would be too heavy! For this reason, the characteristics and functions of ovules and sperm complement each other perfectly.

Other of the features that differentiate eggs and sperm are:

• The eggs are generated in the ovaries while sperm are generated in the testicles.
• The ovules are surrounded by many layers and membranes, which protect them and disappear as the ovum matures. Instead, sperm they only surround themselves with a membrane, the cytoplasmic membrane that all cells have, and they lose it when they fertilize the ovum.
• The sperm suffers many very radical changes in its shape (its nucleus is very compact, it generates a structure called acrosome, which transports many enzymes, generates a flagellum, etc.) while the oocyte does not undergo very large morphological changes.
• The number of sperm generated by a man is not determined from birth, while the number of sperm womenare born with a limited number of oocytes that will mature to give rise to the ovules.
• The number of sperm released by men is approximately between 60 and 300 million, while females release a single egg during each menstrual cycle, two in exceptional cases.

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