Module 2 - Reproductive Anatomy Flashcards
What happens in sexual reproduction?
There is the fusion of haploid gametes to form the diploid cell, the zygote
What happens in asexual reproduction?
New individuals are generated through mitotic cell division
What is parthenogenesis?
Example of asexual reproduction
Egg develops without being fertilised
Doesn’t need a male to breed
E.g. honeybees, male are fertile haploid adults that arise by parthenogenesis
2 types of parthenogenesis:
- Haploid parthenogenesis: Meiosis ——–> Oocyte —-> Haploid zygote
- Diploid parthogenesis: Has 2 types, Automixis and Apomixis.
Automixis: Meiosis -> Oocyte -> Fuse with other oocyte -> diploid zygote
Apomixis: Mitosis -> Female egg cell -> diploid egg
Benefit of sexual reproduction over asexual
Animals that use sexual reproduction are more likely to be able to adapt to changes in the environment than asexual. Fertilisation in sexual reproduction shuffles and reshuffles genes, generating a lot of diversity.
How are reproductive cycles controlled?
By hormones like melatonin secreted by the pineal gland - regulated by environmental cues e.g. sunlight
Why are environmental cues in reproductive cycles important?
Because animals only reproduce when there is sufficient energy sources and environmental conditions that favour the survival of the offspring
At what stage of the reproductive cycle does ovulation occur?
The midpoint
2 reproductive cycles in a female
Ovarian and uterine
What 2 phases are in the ovarian cycle?
Follicular (follicle grows) and luteal phase (corpus luteum forms and then degenerates)
What 3 phases are in the uterine cycle?
Menstrual flow,
Proliferative phase - rising oestradiol levels cause endometrial lining to proliferate and thicken
Secretory phase - corpus luteum secretes progesterone which allows endometrium to become receptive to blastocysts
What 2 hormones secreted by the pituitary gland work together to control ovulation?
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) and LH (Luteinising Hormone)
What hormones are secreted by the ovaries in the menstrual cycle?
Estrogen and progesterone
Do animals that reproduce asexually also exhibit reproductive cycles?
Yes.
For example, the Daphnia, during winter, there’s a sexual phase. Diapausing egg is made from mating. Then it switches over to asexual phase and becomes parthenogenic cycle.
When is asexual reproduction advantageous?
In stable environments as it perpetuates successful genotypes precisely and there can be more offspring produced
What is courtship behaviour?
When an individual adopts certain behaviour that results in mating e.g. an animal who reproduces asexually adopting a female behaviour when the hormone oestradiol is high and witches to male like behaviour when the level of hormone progesterone is high. The progesterone is good as it inhibits muscular contractions once an egg has been fertilised.
2 types of fertilisation
- External fertilisation - female released eggs into environment where male then fertilises them. Zygote development occurs outside the body. Male and female release outside in a medium like water
- Internal fertilisation - sperm deposited near or in female reproductive tract and fertilise eggs within the tract. Zygote development occurs inside body
What kind of habitat is required in external fertilisation?
Moist habitat so gametes dont dry out and sperm needs to be able to swim to fertilise eggs.
Why is timing crucial in external fertilisation?
Eggs and sperm need to be released at the same time in order to fertilise
How do animals find their mates?
Pheromones - chemicals released by one animal that can influence the physiology and behaviour of others individuals of the same species
What does internal fertilisation allow?
The union of gametes to occur in moist environments even if the animal is on land
Protects the offspring from predation or dispersal
Means fewer eggs are required to ensure a successful number of offspring survive
2 Advantages of internal fertilisation
- More offspring survive due to protection and parental care
- Successful fertilisation more likely
3 disadvantages of internal fertilisation
- Requires more energy to find a mate
- Fewer offspring produced
- Large investment from female parent may leave her vulnerable
3 advantages of external fertilisation?
- Little energy needed to find a mate
- Many offspring produced
- Offspring not in competition with parents
3 disadvantages of external fertilisation
- Many gametes do not survive or are not fertilised
- Zygotes and embryos are unprotected
- No parental care means many offspring don’t survive into adulthood
What is the source of food for marsupial zygotes?
Yolk inside egg
When is the embryo of a marsupial born?
Relatively premature stage compared to placental mammals: completes development externally in a pouch which contains mammary gland (produces milk for small baby)
Differences between placental mammals and marsupials
Placental animals:
1. Nourish fetus via placenta
2. Most diversified mammals
3. Have ossified patellae and corpus collosum
4. Dominant and large population
Marsupial:
1. Give birth to undeveloped young and nourish them in pouch
2. Less diverse
3. Smaller population
3 main types of mammals
- Monotreme - young hatches from egg and then mother nurtures it into adulthood: produces milk (lactates)
- Marsupial - birth developed young, lactate
- Placental - small gestation period. Lactates
Where is sperm produced
The testes produce sperm in seminiferous tubules
What temperature are the testes maintained at?
About 2 degrees below core body temperature
Path of the sperm
From the seminiferous tubules of a testis, the sperm pass into the coiled duct of an epididymis. During ejaculation, the sperm are propelled from each epididymis through a muscular duct (the vas deferens)
The ejaculatory ducts open into the urethra
3 sets of accessory glands in males
- Semina vesicles
- Prostate gland
- Bulbourethral glands
These produce secretions that combine with sperm to form semen (because gametes need a moist environment and these are the 3 glands that provide the moist environment)
Acronym: VG
Vesicular Gland
Acronym: A
Ampulla
Acronym: BP
Prostate
Acronym: DD
Ductus deferens / Vas deferens
Acronym: GP
Glans Penis
Acronym: PS
Penile Shaft
Acronym: T
Testis
What is spermatogenesis?
Formation and development of sperm. All 4 products of meiosis develop into mature gametes
Acronym: TE
Testicle (Testis + Epididymis)
Acronym: EB
Epididymis
What is the outer layer of each ovary packed with?
Follicles each consisting of an oocyte, a partially developed egg, surrounded by support cells
Name for premature sperm on the outside of a testis tube?
Spermatocyte
Where does the oviduct extend from?
The uterus towards funnel-like opening at each ovary
Sperm on the inside of testis tube
Spermatozoa
Upon ovulation, what happens in the female anatomy
Cilia on the epithelial lining of each oviduct helps collect the egg by drawing fluid from the body cavity into the oviduct.
Together, with wavelike contractions of the oviduct, the cilia conveys the eggs down the duct to the uterus.
The inner lining of the uterus, the endometrium, is richly supplied with blood vessels
The neck of the uterus, the cervix, opens into the vagina
What occurs inside the ovaries:
Oogenesis: development of mature oocytes is a prolonged process in the human female
- immature eggs form in the ovary of female embryo but do not complete their development until teenage years
- cytokinesis during meiosis is unequal with almost all the cytoplasm segregated to a single daughter cell (the large cell from this is destined to become the egg, the other products are known as polar bodies and degenerate)
The endocrine control of reproduction begins with what…
The hypothalamus which secretes Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH)
This hormone then directs the anterior pituitary gland to secrete FSH and LH
In females, FSH and LH act on ovaries to produce estrogens
In males, FSH and LH act on testes to produce androgens
Negative feedback loop in hormone control
If you’re producing too much estrogen/androgen, the pathway between hypothalamus and ovaries/testes stops to get it back into a homeostatic level. This pathway below age of 8 is kept low.
Gonads produce and secrete 3 major types of sex hormones
- Androgens - principally testosterone
- Oestrogen - principally oestradiol
- Progesterone
How much more testosterone do men have than females in the blood?
10x higher
How much more oestradiol do women have than males?
10x
Peak progesterone levels are much higher in what gender?
Female
When females hit menopause, what happens to the sex hormones?
The sex hormones plummet
Do hormones control sex phenotype or is it just genetic determined?
Chromosomes are not enough to determine sex - needs signa from gonads
What gene determines the production of testosterone from the testes?
The SRY gene - this gene will determine whether its a male or not since females dont have this gene.
What occurs in spermatogenesis (what does FSH and LH do on the body)?
FSH stimulates Sertolli cells within the seminiferous tubules to nourish developing sperm
LH causes Leydig cells to produce testosterone and other androgens to promote spermatogenesis in the testes.
The main cause of spermatogenesis:
FSH
What regulates blood levels of GnRH, FSH and LH
Testosterone regulates blood levels of GnRH, FSH and LH through inhibitory effects on the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary
What is inhibin, what is it produced by and what does it act on?
A hormone that in males, is produced by Sertolli cells, acts on the anterior pituitary gland to reduce FSH secretion