gamót

Gamete is a haploid reproductive cell that fuses with another gamete during fertilization to form a diploid zygote. In most sexually reproducing organisms, gametes arise through meiosis from germ cells, ensuring half the parental chromosome number is passed to offspring. The union of two gametes restores the diploid state and initiates embryo development.

Types and forms: Male gametes are typically small and motile (spermatozoa in animals; pollen grains in many plants). Female gametes are typically larger and non-motile (ova; in flowering plants the embryo sac contains the female gametophyte). Some species have isogamy, where gametes are morphologically similar; in others (anisogamy and oogamy) the gametes differ in size and motility.

Gametogenesis: Spermatogenesis produces sperm in the testes; oogenesis produces ova in the ovaries. In many animals the male gamete is produced continuously, while oogenesis often yields a finite number of ova with polar bodies produced during meiosis.

Fertilization is the fusion of two gametes, combining genetic material to form a zygote, which then divides and develops into a new organism. In plants, male and female gametes are produced in distinct organs (pollen in stamens; ovules in ovaries), and in angio­sperms fertilization is part of a process called double fertilization that forms both the diploid embryo and the triploid endosperm.

Gametogenesis and fertilization contribute genetic diversity through recombination and independent assortment during meiosis, supporting evolutionary adaptation and species continuity.