Gametogenesis

Gametogenesis

Gametogenesis is the development and production of the male and female germ cells required to form a new individual, it is a process in which an organism makes gametes; gametes are cells which are used in sexual reproduction (wise geek 2009) they form from body cells that are located in sex organs known as gonads, the gonads in males are the testes and the gonads in females are the ovaries. Female organisms produce eggs or oocytes in a process known as ogenisis while male organisms make sperm by spermatogenesis. Eggs and sperm are two different gametes, During sexual intercourse, an ejaculated sperm cell penetrates an egg and unites with it (fertilizes it). The fertilized egg is called the zygote. The reproductive organs in both males and females begin gametogenesis with a primitive germ cell that eventually results in a new being. The primitive germ cells in men go through three stages to develop from immature germ cells known as spermatogonia into mature sperm cells called spermatozoa. Oogenesis is the production of an egg cell. There are several stages of oogenesis (medterms, 2000).

Sperm and oocytes are made up of chromosomes; chromosomes are structures that hold the genetic information (the DNA) that determine the makeup of the new being. In humans, chromosomes influence hair, eye and skin colour, height, bone structure, all of the characteristics that prompt people to say that a child "takes after" his mother or father. DNA carries the genetic information of a cell and consists of thousands of genes. Each gene serves as a recipe on how to build a protein molecule. Proteins perform important tasks for the cell functions or serve as building blocks. The flow of information from the genes determines the protein composition and thereby the functions of the cell. When proteins are needed, the corresponding genes are transcribed into RNA, RNA carries information from DNA to structures called ribosomes. These ribosomes are made from proteins and...