- The cell formed by the union of two gametes, especially a fertilized ovum before cleavage.
- The organism that develops from a zygote.
[From Greek zugōtos, yoked, from zugoun, to yoke.]
zygotic zy·got'ic (-gŏt'ĭk) adj.zygotically zy·got'i·cal·ly adv.
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[From Greek zugōtos, yoked, from zugoun, to yoke.]
zygotic zy·got'ic (-gŏt'ĭk) adj.Derived from the Greek meaning ‘yoked’, a zygote is the cell that results from fertilization. It is the union of a spermatozoon and an ovum — the mature germ cells, known also as the male and female gametes (from the Greek for husband and wife). Each of the two gametes is haploid, meaning that the nucleus has half the number of chromosomes of normal body cells. Their union results in the diploid zygote, with a full set of chromosomes, carrying the combination of genes that will determine all the bodily characteristics of the new individual. When, as a result of this union, matched genes (alleles) at particular sites on the newly paired chromosomes are different from each other, the zygote, and hence the resulting individual, is heterozygous with respect to those genes. It is homozygous if the pairs are identical. Since one of a dissimilar pair of genes can dominate the other, whereas identical pairs can act in unison, this is crucial to the suppression or emergence of the relevant inherited trait.
The zygote carries within its single cell continuing threads in the immemorial lifespan of the human race, as well as the mixed-and-matched microscopic material from which will stem the intricacies common to all human bodies, yet with the remarkable uniqueness of a particular person.
— Sheila Jennett, Colin Blakemore
The developing ovum from the time it is fertilized until, as a blastocyst, it is implanted in the uterus.
(Greek, zygotos, yoked together) A cell formed by the union of two reproductive cells, or more broadly the developing organism produced by such a cell. The zygote is mentioned in debates about abortion as the smallest single ‘thing’ to which the history of a living individual can be traced.
The single cell that results from
The cell resulting from union of a male and female gamete; the fertilized ovum. More precisely, the cell after synapsis at the completion of fertilization until first cleavage.
| Zygote | ||
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| Days | 1 | |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | z_01/12871436 | |
A zygote (Greek: ζυγωτόν) is a cell that is the result of fertilization. That is, two haploid cells—usually (but not always) an ovum from a female and a sperm cell from a male—merge into a single diploid cell called the zygote (or zygocyte).
Animal zygotes undergo mitotic cell divisions to become an embryo. Other organisms may undergo meiotic cell division at this time (for more information refer to biological life cycles).
Twins and multiple births can be monozygotic (identical) or dizygotic (fraternal), meaning they arise from one or several (strictly, two) fertilization events.
A polyspermic zygote is a zygote that has been fetilized by more than one sperm. Each year, world wide, tens of thousands of zygotes derived from the in-vitro insemination of human oocytes undergo polyspermic fertilization. These embryos must presently be discarded because it has never been demonstrated in any humans that polyspermic zygotes can develop normally to term after removal of the supernumerary male pronucleus. However, polyspermic zygotes in mice have been manipulated so as to remove one of the two male pronuclei and made to survive birth.
A biparental zygote is a Chlamydomonas zygote that contains chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) from both parents.
| Preceded by Ovum Sperm |
Stages of human
development Zygote |
Succeeded by Embryo |
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Nederlands (Dutch)
cel ontstaan uit twee gameten, zygoot
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ζυγώτης (κύτταρο)
Português (Portuguese)
n. - zigoto (m)
Español (Spanish)
n. - cigoto, zigoto
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - zygot (biol.)
中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
受精卵, 接合体, 接合子
中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 受精卵, 接合體, 接合子
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) لاقحه ( خليه تتولد من اتحاد مشيجين)
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ביצית מופרית
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