Sperm (pl.: sperm or sperms) is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, which are known as spermatozoa, while some red algae and fungi produce non-motile sperm cells, known as spermatia.[1] Flowering plants contain non-motile sperm inside pollen, while some more basal plants like ferns and some gymnosperms have motile sperm.[2]
Sperm cells form during the process known as spermatogenesis, which in amniotes (reptiles and mammals) takes place in the seminiferous tubules of the testicles.[3] This process involves the production of several successive sperm cell precursors, starting with spermatogonia, which differentiate into spermatocytes. The spermatocytes then undergo meiosis, reducing their chromosome number by half, which produces spermatids. The spermatids then mature and, in animals, construct a tail, or flagellum, which gives rise to the mature, motile sperm cell. This whole process occurs constantly and takes around 3 months from start to finish.
Sperm cells cannot divide and have a limited lifespan, but after fusion with egg cells during fertilization, a new organism begins developing, starting as a totipotent zygote. The human sperm cell is haploid, so that its 23 chromosomes can join the 23 chromosomes of the female egg to form a diploid cell with 46 paired chromosomes. In mammals, sperm is stored in the epididymis and released through the penis in semen during ejaculation.
The word sperm is derived from the Greek word σπέρμα, sperma, meaning "seed".
- ^ "Spermatium definition and meaning". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
- ^ Kumar, Anil (2006). Botany for Degree Gymnosperm (Multicolor ed.). S. Chand Publishing. p. 261. ISBN 978-81-219-2618-8.
- ^ "Animal reproductive system - Male systems". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-02-20.