Gametogenesis Overview

This article provides an overview of the topic of “Gametogenesis”—the collective processes by which gametes are produced in each sex. The processes of gametogenesis are subdivided into: (1) “Development of the germ line” which includes events of germline development that occur prior to birth in either males or females including emergence of primordial germ cells, their subsequent migration to the developing gonads, and the sexually dimorphic prenatal entrance of developing germ cells into meiosis (in females) or the lack thereof (in males); (2) “Postnatal gametogenesis” which includes sex-specific events of germline development and differentiation that occur following birth in either males or females including oogenesis in females and spermatogenesis in males; (3) “Meiosis” which is an event common to germline development in both sexes to facilitate genetic recombination and yield the haploid gametes in each sex; (4) “Postmeiotic gametogenesis” which includes the final sexually dimorphic stages of differentiation of the gametes via the processes of spermatogenesis to yield spermatozoa in males and oogenesis to yield oocytes in females; (5) “The gametogenic transcriptomes” which includes the sex-specific patterns of gene expression that occur uniquely during germline development and differentiation in either males or females; (6) “germline-specific epigenetic reprogramming” which includes genome-wide changes in epigenetic programming that occur uniquely during the development and differentiation of the germ line in each sex; and (7) “Maintenance of enhanced genetic integrity during gametogenesis” which includes the processes by which the genomic (DNA) sequence is maintained in a pristine state during the development of the germ line and production of the gametes in each sex.