Why can a chicken egg cell be so much larger than other cells?

Answer 1

A chicken egg cell needs to be larger. In that one cell are all the substances the growing chick will need. Even a human egg cell is much larger than normal cells. This is made up for when the cell starts diving mitotically. There is only nuclear growth, without significant growth in cytoplasm.ie. each individual cell gets smaller, but the whole mass remains approximately the same size as the original egg cell. Most cells obtain nutrients through their cell membrane. As a result, most cells must be small in order for enough nutrients to pass through their membrane at a time. The larger a cell gets, the more nutrients it requires to pass through the cell membrane. This is what keeps most cells small; the need to even out the surface area to volume ratio of a cell. However, because the nutrients that an egg needs are contained within it, it can grow to be as big as it wants, because there is no need to even out the surface area to volume ratio of this cell.

Answer 2

The larger the egg cell, the more energy available to be used for the developing embryo prior to the availability of an external energy source. In humans that would be supporting the developing blastula prior to implantation in the uterine wall. For chickens the entire baby chick develops from the single fertilized egg cell.

Answer 3

It must subdivide into numerous specialized cells to form a fetus AND a placenta BEFORE it can take in nutrients from its mother and grow.