How much information does the female gamete contribute to the offspring?
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- The female gamete, known as the egg or ovum, contributes half of the genetic information required for the offspring. In humans and many other organisms, this means that the egg provides 23 chromosomes, which combine with 23 chromosomes from the male gamete, the sperm, to form a full set of 46 chromosomes in the resulting zygote. This zygote then develops into an embryo and eventually, an offspring.
- In addition to the genetic contribution, the female gamete also provides the initial cellular structures, cytoplasm, organelles (like mitochondria), and the nutrients required for the early stages of embryonic development. The mitochondrial DNA, which is involved in energy production within cells, is inherited exclusively from the mother, as the mitochondria present in the sperm are typically destroyed after fertilization.