What is oogenesis

- Oogenesis is the creation

of an ovum (an egg cell).
- It is the female process
of gametogenesis.
- It involves the various
stages of an immature
ova.
Oogenesis is the process
of meiosis in female
organisms from an
oogonium to a primary
oocyte, to a secondary
oocyte, and then to an
ovum.
 In mammals, the first part of oogenesis
starts in the germinal epithelium, which
gives rise to the development of ovarian
follicles, the functional unit of the ovary.
 Oogenesis consists of several sub-
processes: oocytogenesis, ootidogenesi
s, and finally maturation to form an
ovum (oogenesis
proper). Folliculogenesis is a separate
sub-process that accompanies and
supports all three oogenetic sub-
processes.
The sequence in the process

 Oogonium
 (Oocytogenesis)
 Primary Oocyte
 (Meiosis I)
 First Polar Body (Discarded afterward)
+ Secondary oocyte
 (Meiosis II)
 Second Polar Body (Discarded
afterward) + Ovum
Oocytogenesis (mitosis)
 Oogenesis starts with the process of
developing oogonia, which occurs via
the transformation of primordial
follicles into primary oocytes, a process
called oocytogenesis.
 During this stage, the cell type is called
oogonium.
Ootidogenesis
 It is commonly believed that, when oocytogenesis is
complete, no additional primary oocytes are created,
in contrast to the male process of spermatogenesis,
where gametocytes are continuously created.
Primary oocytes reach their maximum development
at 20 weeks of gestational age, when approximately
seven million primary oocytes have been created
however, at birth, this number has already been
reduced to approximately 1-2 million.
 The succeeding phase of ootidogenesis occurs when
the primary oocyte develops into an ootid. This is
achieved by the process of meiosis. In fact, a
primary oocyte is a cell whose primary function is to
divide by the process of meiosis.
 Meiosis I
 Meiosis I of ootidogenesis begins
during embryonic development, but
halts in the diplotene stage of
prophase I until puberty. The mouse
oocyte in the dictyate (prolonged
diplotene) stage actively repairs
DNA damage, whereas DNA repair
is not detectable in the pre-dictyate
(leptotene, zygotene and pachytene
) stages of meiosis.
 For those primary oocytes that
continue to develop in each
menstrual cycle,
however, synapsis occurs
and tetrads form,
enabling chromosomal crossover to
occur. As a result of meiosis I, the
primary oocyte has now developed
into the secondary oocyte and the
first polar body.
Meiosis II
 Immediately after
meiosis I,
the haploid secondary
oocyte initiates meiosis
II. However, this
process is also halted at
the metaphase II stage
until fertilization, if such
should ever occur.
When meiosis II has
completed, an ootid and
another polar body
have now been created.
Maturation into ovum

 Both polar bodies disintegrate at the end

of Meiosis II, leaving only the ootid,
which then eventually undergoes
maturation into a mature ovum.
 The function of forming polar bodies is
to discard the extra haploid sets of
chromosomes that have resulted as a
consequence of meiosis.
Folliculogenesis(maturation of
follicle)
 Synchronously
with
ootidogenesis,
the ovarian
follicle surroun
ding the ootid
has developed
from a
primordial
follicle to a
preovulatory
one.
Primordial Follicles
 • During prenatal
development, small group of
cells of ovarian cortex form
several millions primordial
follicles
 • Each follicle = single, large
cell called primary oocyte
 • Each primary oocyte
surrounded by epithelial cells
called follicular cells
 • Once primordial follicles
appear, no new ones form
 • Number of ooyctes in ovary
steadily decline over time
 Beginning at puberty, some
primary oocytes stimulated
to continue meiosis• When
primary oocyte divides,
cytoplasm distributed
unequally
 • One of resulting cells,
secondary oocyte, is large
 • Other resulting cell, first
polar body, is small
 • Secondary oocyte
represents future egg cell –
If fertilized by sperm, divides
unequally to produce a 2nd
polar body & a large
fertilized egg cell called a
zygote
 • Polar bodies degenerate
Follicle maturation
 With each reproductive cycle, some
primordial follicles mature into primary
follicles
 During maturation, primary oocyte
enlarges and surrounding follicular
cells proliferate by mitosis
 Follicular cells organize
into layers & a cavity
appears in the cellular
mass
 Clear folliculas fluid fills
cavity and bathes
primary oocyte
 Enlarging fluid filled
cavity presses the
oocyte to one side
 Mature follicle buldges
outward on ovary
surface
 Secondary oocyte
within mature follicle is
large, spherical cell,
surrounded by
glycoprotein called zona
pellucida
Ovulation
 • As follicle matures, primary oocyte undergoes
oogenesis giving rise to secondary oocyte & 1st
polar body
 • Ovulation: releases secondary oocyte & 1st polar
body w/ 1 or 2 surrounding layers of follicular cells
from mature follicle
 • Release of luteinizing hormone(LH) triggers
ovulation
 • Eventually mature follicle’s wall ruptures & follicular
fluid & secondary oocyte ooze from ovary surface
 • After ovulation, secondary oocyte & surrounding
follicular cells propelled to uterine tube• If not
fertilized, oocyte degenerates
Oogenesis in other organisms

 Some algae and the oomycetes produce eggs in oogonia.

In the brown alga Fucus, all four egg cells survive
oogenesis, which is an exception to the rule that generally
only one product of female meiosis survives to maturity.
 In plants, oogenesis occurs inside the
female gametophyte via mitosis. In many plants such
as bryophytes, ferns, and gymnosperms, egg cells are
formed in archegonia. In flowering plants, the female
gametophyte has been reduced to an eight-celled embryo
sac within the ovule inside the ovary of the flower.
Oogenesis occurs within the embryo sac and leads to the
formation of a single egg cell per ovule.
 In ascaris, the oocyte does not even begin meiosis until
the sperm touches it, in contrast to mammals, where
meiosis is completed in the estrus cycle.