Fertilisation
union of gametes of opposite sexes during the process of sexual reproduction to form a zygote
Fertilisation or fertilization (see spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give rise to a zygote and initiate its development into a new individual organism or offspring. While processes such as insemination or pollination, which happen before the fusion of gametes, are also sometimes informally referred to as fertilisation, these are technically separate processes. The cycle of fertilisation and development of new individuals is called sexual reproduction. During double fertilisation in angiosperms, the haploid male gamete combines with two haploid polar nuclei to form a triploid primary endosperm nucleus by the process of vegetative fertilisation.
Discovery
In antiquity, Aristotle conceived the formation of new individuals through fusion of male and female fluids, with form and function emerging gradually, in a mode called by him as epigenetic.
In 1784, Spallanzani established the need of interaction between the female's ovum and male's sperm to form a zygote in frogs. In 1827, Karl Ernst von Baer observed a therian mammalian egg for the first time. Oscar Hertwig (1876), in Germany, described the fusion of nuclei of spermatozoa and of ova of sea urchins.
Evolution
The evolution of fertilisation is related to the origin of meiosis, as both are part of sexual reproduction, originated in eukaryotes. One hypothesis states that meiosis originated from mitosis.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Fertilisation” as union of gametes of opposite sexes during the process of sexual reproduction to form a zygote. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as union of gametes of opposite sexes during the process of sexual reproduction to form a zygote. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q14890574. The Library of Congress control number is sh85047904. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1784, 1827 and 1876.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “Fertilisation” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.