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Differences between Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis

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An Introduction

The reproduction chapter in science acquaints the students with the origin of the human race.  A student is able to scientifically approach the questions of human beings and their existence in her normal span of life. The same topic is very essential from the examination point of view. Every year a considerable number of questions are asked from this topic and preparing it can grant students a good score for the class test or the final exams.

 

With the aim to set off productive growth of students and provide them a push to score better in the exams, Vedantu has published a very informative article on Differences between Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis. The article could also be found in PDF format. It is available on Vedantu. The PDF is totally free of cost and doesn’t require any prior registration for the download.  Students can access the file on Differences between Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis from any device be it apple, android, or windows.  Studying the Differences between Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis couldn’t get easier and more interesting. Read now!

 

The Scientific Origin of Human Beings

Every life starts with a zygote. A zygote is a 2n cell formed by the fusion of a sperm and an egg.  The sperm is the male reproductive cell, and the egg is the female reproductive cell. The fusion of these cells is called fertilization, and it results in the production of the zygote. The zygote then proliferates, divides and differentiates into different tissues and organs of the body. All the information on these pathways of cell division and differentiation is encoded in the sperm and the egg. Therefore it is important to study how these cells are formed and the differences in the processes underlying it.

 

How are Sperm produced?

Sperms are considered as the male gametes produced in the testis. The process of sperm production in the male testis is called spermatogenesis.

 

Sperms are produced from the mother cell called spermatogonium. These cells are present in small tubules of the male testis. The spermatogonium is a diploid cell containing 2n chromosomes. The spermatogonium divides into four, haploid (n) spermatozoa.

 

Spermatogonium arises from spermatogenic germs cells. These germ cells are stem cells that have the capability of self-renewing. Differentiation of spermatogenic germ cells results in the formation of intermediate spermatogonium, which further undergoes mitosis to produce type B spermatogonia. These type B spermatogonia further undergo mitosis to produce primary spermatocytes. The primary spermatocytes undergo meiosis I to produce secondary spermatocytes. The secondary spermatocytes then undergo meiosis II and produce four haploid spermatids. These spermatids finally undergo spermatogenesis to produce the sperm tail.

 

Spermatogenesis commences when the males attain puberty and continue for the rest of their lives. Millions of sperms are produced in the process every day. Spermatic development takes place about 70 days in humans.  

 

How are Eggs produced?

Eggs are produced in the ovary of females by a process called oogenesis. It is produced from the oogonia present in the ovary. The egg or the ovum is produced from the diploid primary oocyte by meiosis. Two polar bodies are also formed during meiosis I and II. Unlike spermatogenesis that occurs every day, oogenesis occurs once a month, starting from puberty and ending at menopause.

 

Similar to spermatogonia, the first female reproductive cell is the oogonia, which is a stem cell. Therefore oogonia have the ability of self-renewal and self-differentiation. Thousands of oogonia divide into around seven million germ cells from the second to the seventh month of embryonic development. The oogonia divide by mitosis to produce the primary oocyte. These primary oocytes undergo meiotic division till the diplotene stage in the embryonic stage, after which it stalls the process of cell division and attains a quiescent stage. The cell division process is arrested until the girl attains puberty. Some primary oocytes have also been found to be arrested until 50 years of age. Most primary oocytes are destroyed, and around 400 primary oocytes divide into gametes. Upon attaining puberty, the arrestation on the cell division process is lifted, the process continues, and primary oocytes divide into secondary oocytes. However, this division is unequal, and one secondary oocyte and one polar body are formed from a primary oocyte. The cytoplasm is contained in the secondary oocytes, while the nucleus in the polar body is destroyed. During ovulation, these secondary oocytes are released from the ovary.

 

Spermatogenesis and oogenesis, although taking place in two different individuals, have certain similarities and dissimilarities. The difference between spermatogenesis and oogenesis are as follows.

 

 Spermatogenesis Vs Oogenesis

Parameter

Spermatogenesis

Oogenesis

Definition

Production of sperm from spermatogonia

Production of an ovum from oogonia

Location

Testis in males

Ovaries in females

Stages

All stages of spermatogenesis take place in the testis

The last stage of oogenesis takes in the oviduct.

Release

Sperms are released from the testis

Ovums are released from the ovary.

Rate of production 

Millions of sperms are produced every day

One ovum is released once per month.

Duration

Spermatogenesis takes place every day from puberty until the end.

Oogenesis takes place once per month from puberty to menopause.

Role of Sertoli cells

Plays a supporting role during the process

Plays no role in oogenesis

Growth phase

The Growth phase is too short

The Growth phase is prolonged.

Quiescent/ resting stage

No resting stage 

The resting stage takes place from the embryonic stage to puberty.

Type of cell division

Equal, resulting in the formation of four haploid spermatids

Unequal results in the formation of one haploid ovum and two polar bodies.

Size of the resulting cells

Spermatids are smaller than the spermatocyte

Ovum is larger than the oocytes.

Nuclear condensation

Nuclear condensation takes place in the sperms

No nuclear condensation takes place in the ovum.

Food preservation 

Very little food reservation takes place in the sperms

A lot of food and metabolites are stored in the ovum.

Motility of the resulting cells

Sperms are motile

Ovums are not motile.

 

Apart from these spermatogenesis and oogenesis differences, there are some similarities between the two processes. The similarities between spermatogenesis and oogenesis are: 

Parameter

Spermatogenesis

Oogenesis

Progenitor cell

Spermatogonia- stem cell

Oogonia- stem cell

Type of cell division

Meiosis

Meiosis

Resulting cell type

Sperms- haploid

Ovum-haploid

Phases

Completed in three phases- Multiplicative, growth, and maturation.

Completed in three phases- Multiplicative, growth, and maturation.

 

Spermatogenesis and oogenesis are the two most important processes in life. To distinguish between spermatogenesis and oogenesis is easy since it can be done by their location and the final product. Sperms are small in size, have a distinct tail, which makes them motile. However, an ovum is larger without any tail and is non-motile. These cells contain a set of chromosomes so that when they fuse to form the zygote, the resulting cell becomes diploid (2n).

 

Moreover, these cells are the carriers of the genetic information from the parents to the offspring, and also contain the information of differentiation of the zygote and the embryo to the different tissue processes. These cells form the basis of hereditary relationships in any organism. Any kind of genetic mutation in these cells might reflect in the process of development, which can be detected as early as in the embryonic stage or might surface at some later stages of life.

 

Benefits of the Article

After reading the article one can be in a position to understand the entire journey of a sperm and an egg. One can point out the Differences between Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis which play a very important role in the formation of reproductive cells in males and females respectively.

 

Students can download the article in PDF format and take notes from it. If one doesn’t have a habit of making notes, she can try underlining the important terms and revise them over and over. The article clears all sorts of queries of students on the subject and allows them to have total clarity on the topic of Differences between Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis.

 

Therefore save the article on Differences between Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis provided by Vedantu for future reference. Download the PDF now!

 

Tips to Revise Notes

Students should always make the revision notes to get an edge in theirs. Revision notes allow one to lay down all the necessary knowledge on the paper in a highly precise manner. The student can revise the same concept multiple times in a time-effective manner.  Therefore,  the teachers at Vedantu highly encourage revision notes-making practice and highlight a few tips to make better notes. 

 

The revision notes of a student should always resemble the answers to be written in the exams. Though, the notes should be precise, and elaborate the content with the help of the keywords. These keywords could also be derived from the text or online content students read during their preparation. 

 

The students can also choose to make the mindmaps in their revision notes. It's been proven that making mind maps tends to keep knowledge in our minds for a longer duration of time. The concepts are saved with much more clarity in our memory.

 

Use the above-mentioned suggestion to keep yourself abreast with the level of competition and requirements of the exam. 

 

Research Tips 

In the age of the internet, there is no dearth of content available online on any topic one chooses. This also becomes a problem because the quality of that content witnesses a downfall making it not much reliable for the students. For this reason, students face a little difficulty in finding quality content. To solve this issue, one should know how to research a particular topic. 

 

To get some reliable content one should refer to reliable sources. The reliable sources are the ones that have certain credibility and could be trusted owing to the value and truth they carry. For example, Vedantu is India's largest education platform and carries the trust of many students who visit Vedantu to boost their preparation for any exam. 

 

Make some research questions to clearly understand what the student is looking for. This will guide the research of a student and will weed out any time taking or distracting factors. 

 

Students can come to Vedantu which is the hub of all the reliable content for the students. Most of the content provided by Vedantu is free of cost, without compromising the quality and its value for the students.   All the students can confidently visit the website and allow Vedantu to give them an edge.  

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FAQs on Differences between Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis

1. What is Spermatogenesis?

Spermatogenesis is the development of the sperm from the spermatogonia.

2. What is Oogenesis?

Oogenesis is the development of the ovum from oogonia.

3. How many sperms are formed from Spermatogenesis?

Four haploid sperms are produced after spermatogenesis.

4. How many cells are produced after Oogenesis?

One ovum and two polar bodies are formed after oogenesis.

5. What are the three common stages of Spermatogenesis and Oogenesis?

The three common stages of spermatogenesis and oogenesis are Multiplicative, Growth, and Maturation stages.


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