Could animal sperm fertilize a human egg?
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Could animal sperm fertilize a human egg?
Hi,
What I want to know is if the sperm will breach the egg wall and then abort or if the sperm is rejected before breaching the egg wall?
Specifically I want to know how far it goes before it aborts.
Thanks
P.S. Sorry I posted this in the wrong section.
What I want to know is if the sperm will breach the egg wall and then abort or if the sperm is rejected before breaching the egg wall?
Specifically I want to know how far it goes before it aborts.
Thanks
P.S. Sorry I posted this in the wrong section.
Re: Could animal sperm fertilize a human egg?
Hmm... I am guessing that even after fertilization, the zygote would instantaneously abort since human has 23 chromosome and I'm assuming that other species has different # of chromosome. The chromosome won't pair up correctly and create monosomies... am i right?
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In humans yes. The only viable human monosomy is monosomy X, so an organism with a different chromosome set would cause an embryo that would not be viable. However, if you were somehow able to create a hybrid between a chimp(2n=48) and a human(2n=46) then things turn complicate. The human karyotipe arose from a fusion phenomenon, which resulted in chromosome 2. So even if the chromosome number would be off(obviously caused sterility) i think it would be possible that the embryo would be viable. I don't know what would actually happen - as i see it you would need a genomic analysis for that. But at first glance, the possibility is there.
"As a biologist, I firmly believe that when you're dead, you're dead. Except for what you live behind in history. That's the only afterlife" - J. Craig Venter
Well, the zygote would probably not instantaneously abort. In sea urchin, polyspermy does not result in "instantaneous abortion" and development can continue through gastrulation (cf. Boveri). This development occurs even though 2(+) asters are introduced into the egg, which royally f***s up the partitioning of chromosomes during the first cell division.
And no, the embryo would not abort because chromosomes would not "be unable to pair up correctly"...remember that this is mitosis. Maternal and paternal chromosomes only "line up" adjacent to one another during meiosis I.
And no, the embryo would not abort because chromosomes would not "be unable to pair up correctly"...remember that this is mitosis. Maternal and paternal chromosomes only "line up" adjacent to one another during meiosis I.
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