- Related Topics:
- gametogenesis
- pronucleus
- heterogamy
- isogamy
- dichogamy
- On the Web:
- National Center for Biotechnology Information - Structure of the Gametes (Nov. 07, 2026)
gamete
gamete, sex, or reproductive, cell containing only one set of dissimilar chromosomes, being haploid. Male and female gametes fuse during fertilization to form a zygote, a type of diploid cell (containing two sets of chromosomes).
Gametes are generated through meiosis (reduction division), during which the processes of crossing over and independent assortment ensure the production of four genetically different gametes. In this way, meiosis serves as an important source of genetic variation.
Gametes may be identical in form (isogamy), as in certain species of algae, fungi, and protozoans, or there may be more than one morphological type (heterogamy, or anisogamy), as with many green algae of the genus Chlamydomonas. Gametes of animals, some algae and fungi, and all higher plants exhibit an advanced form of heterogamy called oogamy. In oogamy one of the gametes is small and motile (the sperm), and the other is large and nonmotile (the egg).



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