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Zygote

The result of fertilization in the sexual reproduction in biology, the union of male and female gametes (egg and sperm cells). The gametes from male and female are usually haploid, containing only one copy of each chromosome, thus the zygote contains two copies of each chromosome (is diploid) and develops into an embryo.

In animals, the zygote undergoes mitotic cell division, but does not increase in size, until hollow cavity develops to mark the blastocyst stage, and when the blastocyst hatches from its protein shell and implants in the endomedtrial lining of the mother's uterus.

Web Resources On Zygote

Glossary Definition: Zygote
Sexual reproduction
Timeline of prenatal development

Book Resources On Zygote

Developmental Biology of Reproduction by Clement Lawrence Markert and John Papaconstantinou (eds.).
Reproduction in Mammals by Colin Russell Austin and Roger Valentine Short (eds.).

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