Sex is the biological trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing organism
produces male or female gametes.[1][2][3][4] During sexual reproduction, a male and a
female gamete fuse to form a zygote, which develops into an offspring that inherits traits
from each parent. By convention, organisms that produce smaller, more mobile
gametes (spermatozoa, sperm) are called male, while organisms that produce larger,
non-mobile gametes (ova, often called egg cells) are called female.[5] An organism that
produces both types of gamete is hermaphrodite.[3][6]
In non-hermaphroditic species, the sex of an individual is determined through one of
several biological sex-determination systems. Most mammalian species have the XY
sex-determination system, where the male usually carries an X and a Y
chromosome (XY), and the female usually carries two X chromosomes (XX).
Other chromosomal sex-determination systems in animals include the ZW system in
birds, and the XO system in some insects.[7] Various environmental
systems include temperature-dependent sex determination in reptiles and crustaceans.[8]
The male and female of a species may be physically alike (sexual monomorphism) or
have physical differences (sexual dimorphism). In sexually dimorphic species, including
most birds and mammals, the sex of an individual is usually identified through
observation of that individual's sexual characteristics. Sexual selection or mate
choice can accelerate the evolution of differences between the sexes.
The terms male and female typically do not apply in sexually undifferentiated species in
which the individuals are isomorphic (look the same) and the gametes
are isogamous (indistinguishable in size and shape), such as the green alga Ulva
lactuca. Some kinds of functional differences between individuals, such as in fungi,
[9]
may be referred to as mating types.
Sexual reproduction, in which two individuals produce an offspring that possesses a
selection of the genetic traits of each parent, is exclusive to eukaryotes. Genetic traits
are encoded in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of chromosomes. The eukaryote cell
has a set of paired homologous chromosomes, one from each parent, and this double-
chromosome stage is called "diploid". During sexual reproduction, a diploid organism
produces specialized haploid sex cells called gametes via meiosis,[11] each of which has
a single set of chromosomes. Meiosis involves a stage of genetic
recombination via chromosomal crossover, in which regions of DNA are exchanged
between matched pairs of chromosomes, to form new chromosomes, each with a new
combination of the genes of the parents. Then the chromosomes are separated into
single sets in the gametes. When gametes fuse during fertilization, the resulting zygote
has half of the genetic material of the mother and half of the father. [12] The combination
of chromosomal crossover and fertilization, bringing the two single sets of
chromosomes together to make a new diploid zygote, results in a new organism that
contains a different set of the genetic traits of each parent.
In animals, the haploid stage only occurs in the gametes, the sex cells that fuse to form
a zygote that develops directly into a new diploid organism. In a plant species, the
diploid organism produces a type of haploid spore by meiosis that is capable of
undergoing repeated cell division to produce a multicellular haploid organism. In either
case, the gametes may be externally similar (isogamy) as in the green alga Ulva or may
be different in size and other aspects (anisogamy).[13] The size difference is greatest
in oogamy, a type of anisogamy in which a small, motile gamete combines with a much
larger, non-motile gamete.[14]
In anisogamic organisms, by convention, the larger gamete (called an ovum, or egg
cell) is considered female, while the smaller gamete (called a spermatozoon, or sperm
cell) is considered male. An individual that produces large gametes is female, and one
that produces small gametes is male.[15] An individual that produces both types of
gamete is a hermaphrodite. In some species, a hermaphrodite can self-fertilize and
produce an offspring on its own.
Most sexually reproducing animals spend their lives as diploid, with the haploid stage
reduced to single-cell gametes.[16] The gametes of animals have male and female forms
—spermatozoa and egg cells, respectively. These gametes combine to
form embryos which develop into new organisms.
The male gamete, a spermatozoon (produced in vertebrates within the testes), is a
small cell containing a single long flagellum which propels it.[17] Spermatozoa are
extremely reduced cells, lacking many cellular components that would be necessary for
embryonic development. They are specialized for motility, seeking out an egg cell and
fusing with it in a process called fertilization.
Female gametes are egg cells. In vertebrates, they are produced within the ovaries.
They are large, immobile cells that contain the nutrients and cellular components
necessary for a developing embryo.[18] Egg cells are often associated with other cells
which support the development of the embryo, forming an egg. In mammals, the
fertilized embryo instead develops within the female, receiving nutrition directly from its
mother.
Animals are usually mobile and seek out a partner of the opposite sex for mating.
Animals which live in the water can mate using external fertilization, where the eggs and
sperm are released into and combine within the surrounding water.[19] Most animals that
live outside of water, however, use internal fertilization, transferring sperm directly into
the female to prevent the gametes from drying up.
In most birds, both excretion and reproduction are done through a single posterior
opening, called the cloaca—male and female birds touch cloaca to transfer sperm, a
process called "cloacal kissing".[20] In many other terrestrial animals, males use
specialized sex organs to assist the transport of sperm—these male sex organs are
called intromittent organs. In humans and other mammals, this male organ is known as
the penis, which enters the female reproductive tract (called the vagina) to
achieve insemination—a process called sexual intercourse. The penis contains a tube
through which semen (a fluid containing sperm) travels. In female mammals, the vagina
connects with the uterus, an organ which directly supports the development of a
fertilized embryo within (a process called gestation).
Because of their motility, animal sexual behavior can involve coercive sex. Traumatic
insemination, for example, is used by some insect species to inseminate females
through a wound in the abdominal cavity—a process detrimental to the female's health.
Like animals, land plants have specialized male and female gametes.[21][22] In seed plants, male
gametes are produced by reduced male gametophytes that are contained within pollen which
have hard coats that protect the male gamete forming cells during transport from the anthers to
the stigma. The female gametes of seed plants are contained within ovules. Once fertilized,
these form seeds which, like eggs, contain the nutrients necessary for the initial development of
the embryonic plant.
