Reproduction

Asexual reproduction
A single parent endows its offspring
with genes identical to its own.
– Energy efficient
– Most successful in a stable
environment
Means of asexual reproduction
 Budding
– Part of the parent’s body grows and
separates from the rest of the body.
 Fragmentation
– The parent’s body breaks into pieces.
– Each piece can grow into a new animal.
 Parthenogenesis
– An unfertilized egg develops into an adult.
Asexual
reproduction
by budding
Sexual reproduction
• Offspring produced by fusion of two
gametes.
– Ovum (egg)
– Sperm
• A fertilized egg (zygote) forms.
• Promotes genetic variety and is
adaptive in an unstable environment.
External fertilization
Mating partners typically release eggs
and sperm into the water simultaneously.
Internal fertilization
Male delivers sperm into the female’s
body.
Hermaphroditism
Single individual produces eggs and
sperm
 The primary sex organs (gonads) are those that
produce gametes (sperm and eggs).

Male: testes Female: ovaries

• Secondary sex organs
Essential to reproduction

• Secondary sex characteristics

Features not essential for reproduction but
attract the sexes to each other.
Male reproductive system
• Testicles or testes
– Housed in the scrotum.
– Divided into lobules (1-4 tubules).
– Seminiferous tubules, sperm production
– Leydig cells or interstitial cells secrete
testosterone.
– Sertoli cells produce signaling molecules and a
fluid that nourishes sperm cells.
• The reproductive tract
– Epididymus, where sperm mature (spermiogenesis).
 An acrosome, containing hydrolytic enzymes, develops from the Golgi
body and overlies the dense, elongated nucleus.
 A flagellum grows from the side opposite to the acrosome and extends
into lumen of the seminiferous tubule.
 Mitochondria aggregate around the flagellum.
 The bulk of the cytoplasm is cast off as a residual body, leaving only a
thin rim of cytoplasm around the nucleus.

– Ductus or vas deferens, stores sperm

– Urethra

During ejaculation, sperm pass from the vas deferens to the

ejaculatory duct and into the urethra.
Structure of
a
mature sperm
Human reproduction
Can be divided into several stages:
1. The formation of gametes or gametogenesis.
2. Fertilisation or union of gametes in order to form the zygote.
3. The development of the embryo in the mother’s uterus (known as gestation).
4. Birth.
Spermatogenesis Oogenesis
Location Seminiferous tubes in the testicles Follicles of the ovaries
Initial cells Spermatogonia Oogonia
Beginning and Starts during puberty and continues for It begins during pregnancy, restarts during
duration the rest of life. It takes a few months puberty, and ends every 28 days until the
menopause occurs. It takes about 14 days.

Obtained cells Four spermatozoids from every One ovum from each oogonium
spermatogonium
Stages Growth, meiosis and maturation Follicular stage, secreting stage and
ovulation

Diagram
Spermatogenesis in the seminiferous tubules
• Penis
– Three columns of erectile tissue:
Two cavernous bodies, corpora
cavernosa.
One spongy body that surrounds the
urethra, corpus spongiosum.
– Male copulatory organ

Erectile tissue becomes engorged with blood and causes

erection
Internal
structure
of
the penis
• Accesory glands:
- Seminal vesicles: Spermatic fluid
(a secretion that composes 80% of the seminal fluid and
contains fructose, fibrinogen, and prostaglandins)
- Prostate: Prostatic fluid (citric acid and proteolytic
enzymes that prevent coagulation of semen)
- Cowper glands: Lubricating fluid
Male reproductive system
Spermatogenesis
Sperm pass in sequence through:
• Seminiferous tubules of the testes
• Epididymis
• Vas deferens
• Ejaculatory duct
• Urethra
Endocrine regulation of reproduction in the
human male
• Testosterone establishes and maintains
– Primary sex characteristics
– Secondary sex characteristics
Endocrine regulation of reproduction involves
the:
• Hypothalamus
– GnRH
• Pituitary gland
– FSH and LH
• Testes
– Testosterone
– ABP and inhibin
Principal male reproductive hormones
Regulation of
reproduction in
the male
Female reproductive system
• Ovaries
– Produce gametes
– Steroid hormones estrogen and
progesterone
• Fertilization takes place in the oviducts
Female
reproductive
system
• Uterus
– Incubator for the embryo
– Endometrium thickens each month
– Cervix extends into the vagina
• Vagina
– Lower part of the birth canal
– Vulva includes the labia majora, labia
minora, vestibule, clitoris, and mons
pubis
Female
reproductive
system,
anterior view
• Breasts
– Function in lactation
– Prolactin stimulates milk production
– Oxytocin stimulates milk ejection from
the alveoli into the ducts
Development of a human ovum
• Oogenesis takes places in the ovaries
• Oogonia differentiate into primary
oocytes
– Primary oocyte and granulosa cells make
up a follicle
Oogenesis
• As the follicle grows
– Connective tissue cells form a layer of
theca cells.
– Primary oocyte undergoes mitosis,
giving rise to a secondary oocyte and a
polar body.
• During ovulation
– The secondary oocyte is ejected and
enters an oviduct to be fertilized.
– The part of the remaining follicle
develops into a corpus luteum.
Development of follicles in the ovary
Endocrine regulation of reproduction
• Preovulatory phase
– GnRH stimulates the pituitary to secrete
FSH and LH
– Estrogen stimulates endometrium
development
– LH stimulates final maturation of the
follicle and ovulation
• Postovulatory phase
– LH promotes development of the corpus
luteum.
– The corpus luteum secretes progesterone
and estrogen.
– If fertilization does not occur, the corpus
luteum degenerates, hormone levels fall,
and menstruation occurs.
Principal female reproductive hormones
Feedback mechanisms in endocrine regulation of female reproduction
Human fertilization
• Fusion of secondary oocyte and sperm to
form a zygote.
• Embryo implants in the uterus.
• hCG is the hormone that maintains the
corpus luteum.
• Estrogen and progesterone.
– Secreted by corpus luteum (first
trimester) and then by placenta.
The moment of fertilization, revealed by an ultra high scanning electron microscope.
In the race to reach the egg cell, up to 500,000,000 human sperm set out on the
perilous journey to the Fallopian tube, which only 100 to 150 sperm survive.
Credit: Lennart Nilsson, 1990.
Fertilization
Identical twins vs Fraternal twins
Events following fertilization
 Gestation

Three stages:
• Germinal: Zygote Morula Blastocyst
• Embryonic: endoderm, mesoderm, ectoderm
• Fetal: Embryo Fetus
 Differentiation
The migration of cells into three layers occurs in the 2-week-old embryo.
Stem cells
Fetus joined by the placenta
through the umbilical chord
 Human birth process
• Several hormones, including estrogen,
oxytocin, and prostaglandins regulate
parturition
• Labor is divided into three stages
• Dilation of the cervix
• Fetus release: The baby is delivered during this
stage.
• Delivery of the placenta
 Common sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs)
• Chlamydia
• Gonorrhea
• Syphilis
• Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
• Genital herpes
• HIV
Major
chemical
groups of
hormones
 47, XXY (Klinefelter syndrome)
Because people with an XXY chromosome arrangement have a Y
chromosome, they are considered genetic males. Most XXY
individuals develop as males, often not knowing they have an extra
chromosome.
XXY is one of the most common genetic conditions, affecting about
1 in 660 genetic males.

Similar conditions are caused by

additional X chromosomes (48,
XXXY; 49, XXXXY), but they are
much more rare. The more X
chromosomes a person has, the
stronger the physical characteristics
and health problems tend to be,
including intellectual disability.
 Down Syndrome
Down syndrome is the most common genetic disorder caused by a
chromosomal abnormality. It affects 1 out of every 800 to 1,000 babies.
Down syndrome was originally described in 1866 by John Langdon
Down. It wasn't until 1959 that French doctor Jerome Lejeune discovered
it was caused by the inheritance of an extra chromosome 21.

Nondisjunction happens when chromosomes are distributed incorrectly during egg or sperm
formation. The gametes above either are missing or have an extra chromosome 21.
 Turner Syndrome
People who have Turner syndrome develop as females.
Turner syndrome usually does not affect intelligence. Common physical
symptoms of Turner Syndrome include a stocky build, arms that turn out
slightly at the elbow, a receding lower jaw, a short webbed neck, and a
low hairline at the back of the neck.
Medical symptoms can include lymphedema (swelling of hands and
feet), heart and/or kidney defects, high blood pressure, and infertility
(inability to have children).
 Hemophilia
• The hemophilia gene is carried on the
X chromosome.
• A man with hemophilia passes the
hemophilia gene to all of his
daughters, but not to his sons. His
daughters are called carriers because
they carry the hemophilia gene.
• When a carrier has a baby, there is a
one in two chance that she will pass
on the hemophilia gene. If she passes
the hemophilia gene to a son, he will
have hemophilia. If she passes the
hemophilia gene to a daughter, she will
be a carrier like her mother.
 Colour blindness
• Red/green colour blindness is passed from mother to son on the
23rd chromosome.
• If you are colour blind it means the instructions for the
development of your cone cells are faulty and the cone cells
might be missing, or less sensitive to light or it may be that the
pathway from your cone cells to your brain has not developed
correctly.
• The faulty ‘gene’ for colour blindness is found only on the X
chromosome. So, for a male to be colour blind the faulty colour
blindness ‘gene’ only has to appear on his X chromosome. For a
female to be colour blind it must be present on both of her X
chromosomes. This is why red/green colour blindness is far
more common in men than women.
• Blue colour blindness affects both men and women equally,
because it is carried on a non-sex chromosome.