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An oocyte (/ ˈ oʊ ə s aɪ t /, oöcyte, or ovocyte is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced in a female fetus in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The female germ cells produce a primordial germ cell (PGC), which then undergoes mitosis ...
Studies performed on humans, dogs, and cats in the 1870s suggested that the production of oocytes (immature egg cells) stops at or shortly after birth. A review of reports from 1900 to 1950 by zoologist Solomon Zuckerman cemented the belief that females have a finite number of oocytes that are formed before they are born. This dogma has been ...
The nucleus of the oocyte is called a pronucleus in this process, to distinguish it from the nuclei that are the result of fertilization. Drawing of an ovum. The sperm's tail and mitochondria degenerate with the formation of the male pronucleus. This is why all mitochondria in humans are of maternal origin.
Mammalian oocytes are maintained in meiotic prophase arrest for a very long time—months in mice, years in humans. Initially, the arrest is due to lack of sufficient cell cycle proteins to allow meiotic progression. However, as the oocyte grows, these proteins are synthesized, and meiotic arrest becomes dependent on cyclic AMP. [4]
Ovulation is triggered by a spike in the amount of FSH and LH released from the pituitary gland. During the luteal (post-ovulatory) phase, the secondary oocyte will travel through the fallopian tubes toward the uterus. If fertilized by a sperm, the fertilized secondary oocyte or ovum may implant there 6–12 days later. [11]
The primary oocyte is defined by its process of ootidogenesis, which is meiosis. [2] It has duplicated its DNA, so that each chromosome has two chromatids, i.e. 92 chromatids all in all (4C). When meiosis I is completed, one secondary oocyte and one polar body is created. Primary oocytes have been created in late fetal life.
Oocyte maturation is the following phase of oocyte development. It occurs at sexual maturity when hormones stimulate the oocyte to complete meiotic division I. The meiotic division I produces 2 cells differing in size: a small polar body and a large secondary oocyte.
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 22 January 2025. Union of gametes of opposite sexes during the process of sexual reproduction to form a zygote This article is about fertilisation in animals and plants. For fertilisation in humans specifically, see Human fertilization. For soil improvement, see Fertilizer. "Conceive" redirects here. For ...