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American Heritage Dictionary:
zy·gote |
[From Greek zugōtos, yoked, from zugoun, to yoke.]
zygotic zy·got'ic (-gŏt'ĭk) adj.|
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Oxford Companion to the Body:
zygote |
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
Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy:
zygote |
(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.
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Health:
zygote |
Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry:
zygote |
| zwitterionic buffer, zwitterion, zwischenferment | |
| zygotene, zymase, zymogen |
Saunders Veterinary Dictionary:
zygote |
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.
Mosby's Dental Dictionary:
zygote |
The developing ovum from the time it is fertilized until, as a blastocyst, it is implanted in the uterus.
Random House Word Menu:
categories related to 'zygote' |
Rhymes:
zygotic |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Zygote |
A zygote (from Greek ζυγωτός zygōtos "joined" or "yoked", from ζυγοῦν zygoun "to join" or "to yoke"),[1] or zygocyte, is the initial cell formed when two gamete cells are joined by means of sexual reproduction. In multicellular organisms, it is the earliest developmental stage of the embryo. In single-celled organisms, the zygote divides to produce offspring, usually through meiosis.
A zygote is always synthesized from the union of two gametes, and constitutes the first stage in a unique organism's development. Zygotes are usually produced by a fertilization event between two haploid cells—an ovum (female gamete) and a sperm cell (male gamete)—which combine to form the single diploid cell. Such zygotes contain DNA derived from both the parents, and this provides all the genetic information necessary to form a new individual.
In land plants, the zygote is formed within a chamber called the archegonium. In seedless plants, the archegonium is usually flask-shaped, with a long hollow neck through which the sperm cell enters. As the zygote divides and grows, it does so within the archegonium.
In animal development, the term zygote is also used more loosely to refer to the group of cells formed by the first few cell divisions, although this is properly referred to as a morula.[2]
In mammalian reproduction, after fertilization has taken place the zygote travels down the fallopian tube, while dividing to form more cells[3] without the zygote actually increasing in size. This cell division is mitotic, and is known as cleavage.[4] All mammals go through the zygote stage of life. Mammalian zygotes eventually develop into a blastocyst, after which they are more generally termed an embryo, and then a fetus.
A human zygote exists for about four days, and becomes a blastocyst on the fifth day.[5]
A biparental zygote is a Chlamydomonas (a kind of algae) zygote that contains chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) from both parents.
| Preceded by Oocyte + Sperm cell |
Stages of human development Zygote |
Succeeded by Embryo |
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Translations:
Zygote |
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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 | enzygotic |
| arsenoblast |
| embryonate (embryology) |
 | What is the function of zygotes? Read answer... |
| How are zygotes produced? Read answer... |
| How big is a zygote? Read answer... |
 | What is a zygote in plants? |
| What is fertilization of a zygote? |
| Where is the zygote planted? |
Copyrights:
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 | American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Oxford Companion to the Body. The Oxford Companion to the Body. Copyright © 2001, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Copyright © 1994, 1996, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: Health. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry. Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology © 1997, 2000, 2006 All rights reserved. Read more | |
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| Saunders Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Random House Word Menu. © 2010 Write Brothers Inc. Word Menu is a registered trademark of the Estate of Stephen Glazier. Write Brothers Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Rhymes. Oxford University Press. © 2006, 2007 All rights reserved. Read more | |
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| Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Zygote. Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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