How eggs protect chromosome connections during prolonged dormancy
Eggs follow a very different developmental path from sperm. Once a male hits puberty, sperm cells are produced continuously throughout his life. Eggs, however, are all produced during the fetal stage. Once formed, eggs enter a long dormant state called the dictyate stage, in which the process of cel...
Image: Phys.org
Eggs follow a very different developmental path from sperm. Once a male hits puberty, sperm cells are produced continuously throughout his life. Eggs, however, are all produced during the fetal stage. Once formed, eggs enter a long dormant state called the dictyate stage, in which the process of cell division (meiosis) is paused partway through. This dormant period ends only when the egg is ovulated.
Originally published at Phys.org
