Human Parthenogenesis (virgin births)

FlashGordon1969

I need some help with this concept. Im writing a short fictional story. My biology is rusty. Firstly I need to know a bit about mitosis . Can anyone assist?

sponsoredwalk

Here is a short video on mitosis, there is a whole
biology playlist there & it's all pretty easy to undertstand

CramCycle

FlashGordon1969 wrote: »

I need some help with this concept. Im writing a short fictional story. My biology is rusty. Firstly I need to know a bit about mitosis . Can anyone assist?

Are you trying to write an episode of House?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5zB-r-iy28

artemia salina

Dear Flash,

to fertilize an egg parthenogenetically you need to use the polar body. It has the complementary set of chromosomes comparing to the egg cell nucleus, so the complete genom reunions. To better imagine this special kind of fertilization think of a sperm instead of the polar body.

(Is that English? It's not my mother tongue.)

Piste

Here's a great article on virgin birth, it's seems almost unbelievable.

artemia salina

Piste wrote: »

Here's a great article on virgin birth, it's seems almost unbelievable.

My theory:

The girl became pregnant from the saline. Usually the liquid around the egg cell is buffered, but when free electrones surround it they can activate the fertilization and then the polar body reunions with the nucleus of the egg cell.
So the baby had to be female because of the parthenogenetically genesis - but it is not.
The girl, the mother, has a genetically determined dysfunction in the development of the Wolff Müller system. Her genitals have not developped normally.
The baby boy is in fact a girl with male genitals. He/She inherited the dysfunction from his/her mother, in a stronger occurance, and developped penis and testicles instead of uterus and vagina. And "he" can only beget daughters, because he/she has XX like the mother.

FlashGordon1969

artemia salina wrote: »

My theory:

The girl became pregnant from the saline. Usually the liquid around the egg cell is buffered, but when free electrones surround it they can activate the fertilization and then the polar body reunions with the nucleus of the egg cell.
So the baby had to be female because of the parthenogenetically genesis - but it is not.
The girl, the mother, has a genetically determined dysfunction in the development of the Wolff Müller system. Her genitals have not developped normally.
The baby boy is in fact a girl with male genitals. He/She inherited the dysfunction from his/her mother, in a stronger occurance, and developped penis and testicles instead of uterus and vagina. And "he" can only beget daughters, because he/she has XX like the mother.

What is the polar body ? And why in meiosis do you end up with four daughter cells-isnt only one needed to unite with the sperm?

CramCycle

I thought the article meant that the sperm taken by her while performing felatio survived because it became diluted into the saline buffer used during the treatment of the wound and was then granted access to her abdominal cavity through the stabwound.

but when free electrones surround it they can activate the fertilization and then the polar body reunions with the nucleus of the egg cell.

Can you explain your theory a bit more, I'm not entirely convinced what your saying makes sense but I'd like to know where your coming from in case I am reading it wrong.

FlashGordon1969

FlashGordon1969 wrote: »

What is the polar body ? And why in meiosis do you end up with four daughter cells-isnt only one needed to unite with the sperm?

Somebody must know??

artemia salina

This describes it better than I could:
http://www.microbiologyprocedure.com/genetics/gametogenesis-and-fertilization/gametogenesis-in-animals.htm

FlashGordon1969

Found that a bit too complicated-will keep looking.

Found this:

Meiosis is the process in which a cell divides into four cells and the number of chromosomes in the daughter cells is half the number in the parent cell. These cells, with half the number of chromosomes, are called haploid cells; this is opposed to most cells, including the parent cell, which are called diploid cells. Meiosis is required for sexual reproduction; a haploid cell will combine with another haploid cell from a different individual and the genetic information will combine into a new set of chromosomes and a diploid cell. This creates genetic diversion.


The four cells bit confuses me-are all four used or only one??

artemia salina

FlashGordon1969 wrote: »

The four cells bit confuses me-are all four used or only one??

In a traditionally fertilization all three polar bodies die off. In parthenogenesis the 1st polar body is used for fertilization and the others die off.

1. Spermatogonium
2. Mitosis
3. Oogonium
4. Growth phase
5. Primary Spermatocyte
6. Secondary Spermatocyte
7. Spermatid
8. Ootid
9. Oocyte
10. Meiotic division
11. 1st Polar body
12. 2nd Polar body
13. Spermatozoa
14. Ripe egg
15. Polar bodies
On the left you see a spermatogenesis, on the right an oogenesis. The first polar body in the oogenesis contents the complementary set of chromosomes to the egg cell nucleus. Some creatures (like me, the artemia salina) use sometimes a sperm and sometimes the own 1st polar body to fertilize the egg cell. That is called "facultative automictic parthenogenesis".
I googled around a little bit and I found that there are only two kinds of sites in the www about this topic: incorrect or unclear descriptions but often copied, and constricted access.

CramCycle

Thanks for the link, I get what you were saying now. Personally (without any proof) I'd say this is unlikely to occur in humans and based on random readings about it happening in more developed species, chances are the offspring in humans would be genetically deficient/unable to fully form.

Examples would include the lack of parent specific alleles which may not exist in less sophisticated animals.

For example, IGF-2 is considered to be paternally favoured (I'm unsure if it's paternally specific so I won't say for definite, I just remember it from my undergrad). Without it there can be significant problems with growth of the fetus during gestation.

I know there are maternal specific alleles but that makes sense as the mother will always be there but not certain about the parental ones.

This isn't my area so I'll say nothing for certain

artemia salina

Maybe it doesn't occur in humans. But if you want it can occur in science fiction stories.

FlashGordon1969

Its for a short story so I dont genuinely think this is possible. I want to thank you all for your help. Im not sure how much science I need but it must sound credible. Can I run some extracts by you guys to see if the science is good on this?

artemia salina-could you look at my next post please-following this?

FlashGordon1969

artemia salina wrote: »

In a traditionally fertilization all three polar bodies die off. In parthenogenesis the 1st polar body is used for fertilization and the others die off.

1. Spermatogonium
2. Mitosis
3. Oogonium
4. Growth phase
5. Primary Spermatocyte
6. Secondary Spermatocyte
7. Spermatid
8. Ootid
9. Oocyte
10. Meiotic division
11. 1st Polar body
12. 2nd Polar body
13. Spermatozoa
14. Ripe egg
15. Polar bodies
On the left you see a spermatogenesis, on the right an oogenesis. The first polar body in the oogenesis contents the complementary set of chromosomes to the egg cell nucleus. Some creatures (like me, the artemia salina) use sometimes a sperm and sometimes the own 1st polar body to fertilize the egg cell. That is called "facultative automictic parthenogenesis".
I googled around a little bit and I found that there are only two kinds of sites in the www about this topic: incorrect or unclear descriptions but often copied, and constricted access.

When you say " All three die off" (polar bodies) that leaves one behind is that what becomes an embryo? As from the description of meosis I put up it says four polar bodies are left at the end of Meiosis.

artemia salina

FlashGordon1969 wrote: »

When you say " All three die off" (polar bodies) that leaves one behind is that what becomes an embryo?

Yes.

FlashGordon1969 wrote: »

As from the description of meosis I put up it says four polar bodies are left at the end of Meiosis.

Maybe you misunterstood the spermatogenesis. Here are in the end 4 equal sperm cells.

artemia salina

Here you are a picture how it works:

The nucleus with 23 chromosomes and the polar body with the other 23 chromosomes shall reunion with the help of an electrone.
Its all easy.