Gametes in the context of Reproductive organ

Fertilisation or fertilization (see spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give rise to a zygote and initiate its development into a new individual organism or offspring. While processes such as insemination or pollination, which happen before the fusion of gametes, are also sometimes informally referred to as fertilisation, these are technically separate processes. The cycle of fertilisation and development of new individuals is called sexual reproduction. During double fertilisation in angiosperms, the haploid male gamete combines with two haploid polar nuclei to form a triploid primary endosperm nucleus by the process of vegetative fertilisation.

A sex organ, also known as a reproductive organ, is a part of an organism that is involved in sexual reproduction. Sex organs constitute the primary sex characteristics of an organism. Sex organs are responsible for producing and transporting gametes, as well as facilitating fertilization and supporting the development and birth of offspring. Sex organs are found in many species of animals and plants, with their features varying depending on the species.

Sex organs are typically differentiated into male and female types.

In cellular biology, a somatic cell (from Ancient Greek σῶμα (sôma) 'body'), or vegetal cell, is any biological cell forming the body of a multicellular organism other than a gamete, germ cell, gametocyte or undifferentiated stem cell. Somatic cells compose the body of an organism and divide through mitosis.

In contrast, gametes derive from meiosis within the germ cells of the germline and they fuse during sexual reproduction. Stem cells also can divide through mitosis, but are different from somatic in that they differentiate into diverse specialized cell types.

Meiosis (/maɪˈoʊsɪs/ ) is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, the sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately result in four cells, each with only one copy of each chromosome (haploid). Additionally, prior to the division, genetic material from the paternal and maternal copies of each chromosome is crossed over, creating new combinations of code on each chromosome. Later on, during fertilisation, the haploid cells produced by meiosis from a male and a female will fuse to create a zygote, a cell with two copies of each chromosome.

Errors in meiosis resulting in aneuploidy (an abnormal number of chromosomes) are the leading known cause of miscarriage and the most frequent genetic cause of developmental disabilities.

Trebouxia is a unicellular green alga. It is a photosynthetic organism that can exist in almost all habitats found in polar, tropical, and temperate regions. It can either exist in a symbiotic relationship with fungi in the form of lichen or it can survive independently as a free-living organism alone or in colonies. Trebouxia is the most common photobiont in extant lichens. It is a primary producer of marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. It uses carotenoids and chlorophyll a and b to harvest energy from the sun and provide nutrients to various animals and insects.

An ancestor of Trebouxia may have introduced photosynthesis into terrestrial habitats approximately 450 million years ago. It is also a bioindicator of habitat disturbances, freshwater quality, air pollution, carbon dioxide concentration, and climate change. Furthermore, its life cycle is complex and much research needs to be done to characterize it more completely. For decades, the presence of sexual reproduction was unknown. However, recent (2000s) molecular evidence of recombination and the observation of sexual fusions of gametes to form zygotes suggest that sexual reproduction occurs.

Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, embryon, "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, -logia) is the branch of zoology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos and fetuses. Embryology includes teratology, the study of congenital disorders that occur before birth.

Early embryology was proposed by Marcello Malpighi, and known as preformationism, the theory that organisms develop from pre-existing miniature versions of themselves. Aristotle proposed the now-accepted theory of epigenesis, the idea that organisms develop from seed or egg in a sequence of steps. Modern embryology developed from the work of Karl Ernst von Baer, though accurate observations had been made in Italy by anatomists such as Aldrovandi and Leonardo da Vinci in the Renaissance.

Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than two paired sets of (homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei (eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two complete sets of chromosomes, one from each of two parents; each set contains the same number of chromosomes, and the chromosomes are joined in pairs of homologous chromosomes. However, some organisms are polyploid. Polyploidy is especially common in plants. Most eukaryotes have diploid somatic cells, but produce haploid gametes (eggs and sperm) by meiosis. A monoploid has only one set of chromosomes, and the term is usually only applied to cells or organisms that are normally diploid. Males of bees and other Hymenoptera, for example, are monoploid. Unlike animals, plants and multicellular algae have life cycles with two alternating multicellular generations. The gametophyte generation is haploid, and produces gametes by mitosis; the sporophyte generation is diploid and produces spores by meiosis.

Polyploidy is the result of whole-genome duplication during the evolution of species. It may occur due to abnormal cell division, either during mitosis, or more commonly from the failure of chromosomes to separate during meiosis or from the fertilization of an egg by more than one sperm. In addition, it can be induced in plants and cell cultures by some chemicals: the best known is colchicine, which can result in chromosome doubling, though its use may have other less obvious consequences as well. Oryzalin will also double the existing chromosome content.

The XO sex-determination system (sometimes referred to as X0 sex-determination system) is a system that some species of insects, arachnids, and mammals (not including humans) use to determine the sex of offspring. In this system, there is only one sex chromosome, referred to as X. Males only have one X chromosome (XO), while females have two (XX). The letter O (sometimes a zero) signifies the lack of a Y chromosome. Maternal gametes always contain an X chromosome, so the sex of the animals' offspring depends on whether a sex chromosome is present in the male gamete. Its sperm normally contains either one X chromosome or no sex chromosomes at all.

This system determines the sex of offspring among:

External fertilization is a mode of reproduction in which a male organism's sperm fertilizes a female organism's egg outside of the female's body.It is contrasted with internal fertilization, in which sperm are introduced via insemination and then combine with an egg inside the body of a female organism.

In animals, external fertilization typically occurs in water or a moist area to facilitate the movement of sperm to the egg. The release of eggs and sperm into the water is known as spawning. In motile species, spawning females often travel to a suitable location to release their eggs. However, sessile species are less able to move to spawning locations and must release gametes locally. Among vertebrates, external fertilization is most common in amphibians and fish. Invertebrates utilizing external fertilization are mostly benthic, sessile, or both, including animals such as coral, sea anemones, and tube-dwelling polychaetes. Benthic marine plants also reproduce through external fertilization. Environmental factors and timing are key challenges to the success of external fertilization. While in the water, the male and female must both release gametes at similar times in order to fertilize the egg. Gametes spawned into the water may also be washed away, eaten, or damaged by external factors.