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A female produces an ovum with a full set (two sets of genes) provided solely by the mother. Thus, a male is not needed to provide sperm to fertilize the egg. This form of asexual reproduction is thought in some cases to be a serious threat to biodiversity for the subsequent lack of gene variation and potentially decreased fitness of the offspring.
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 ...
For example, assume that the entire population of a theoretical species has 100 total organisms consisting of two sexes (i.e. males and females), with 50:50 male-to-female representation, and that only the females of this species can bear offspring.
In both plants and animals, gamete size difference is the fundamental difference between females and males. [2] Anisogamy most likely evolved from isogamy. [3] Since the biological definition of male and female is based on gamete size, the evolution of anisogamy is viewed as the evolutionary origin of male and female sexes.
Sexual differentiation is the process of development of the sex differences between males and females from an undifferentiated zygote. [1] [2] Sex determination is often distinct from sex differentiation; sex determination is the designation for the development stage towards either male or female, while sex differentiation is the pathway towards the development of the phenotype.
Pregnancy is the period of time during which the fetus develops, dividing via mitosis inside the uterus. During this time, the fetus receives all of its nutrition and oxygenated blood from the mother, filtered through the placenta , which is attached to the fetus' abdomen via an umbilical cord .
Fertilization was not understood in antiquity. Hippocrates believed that the embryo was the product of male semen and a female factor. Aristotle held that only male semen gave rise to an embryo, while the female only provided a place for the embryo to develop, [5] a concept he acquired from the preformationist Pythagoras.
Progesterone, secreted by the corpus luteum, inhibits the follicular growth and maintains the pregnancy. The endocrine system coincides with the menstrual cycle and goes through thirteen cycles (and thus thirteen LH spikes) during the course of normal folliculogenesis.