Question

How is a sperm cell/egg cell generated?

Answer 1

Production of sperm cell/egg cell:

1. The process of meiosis (reductional division) generates an egg cell or a sperm cell.
2. The parent has a diploid cell (2n DNA) which divides to produce haploid (n DNA) eggs and sperm cells.
3. The meiotic cell division involves one cycle of DNA replication followed by two cycles of nuclear division to give rise to four haploid cells.

Spermatogenesis:

1. The process of production of sperm is known as spermatogenesis.
2. It produces four haploid spermatids which mature to produce sperms.

Oogenesis:

1. The process of production of egg via meiosis is known as oogenesis.
2. Only one ova is formed at the end of the meiotic cell division from the primary oocyte, as the rest are eliminated as polar bodies.
3. The secondary oocyte matures to produce an ovum.