A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a mixed gland that produces the

gametes A gamete (; , ultimately ) is a haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually. Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, also referred to as sex cells. In species that produce ...

and

sex hormones Sex hormones, also known as sex steroids, gonadocorticoids and gonadal steroids, are steroid hormones that interact with vertebrate steroid hormone receptors. The sex hormones include the androgens, estrogens, and progestogens. Their effects a ...

of an organism.

Female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

reproductive cells are

egg cells The egg cell, or ovum (plural ova), is the female reproductive cell, or gamete, in most anisogamous organisms (organisms that reproduce sexually with a larger, female gamete and a smaller, male one). The term is used when the female gamete is ...

, and

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

reproductive cells are sperm. The male gonad, the

testicle A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testoste ...

, produces sperm in the form of

spermatozoa A spermatozoon (; also spelled spermatozoön; ; ) is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote. (A zygote is a single cell, with a complete set of chromos ...

. The female gonad, the ovary, produces egg cells. Both of these gametes are haploid cells. Some

hermaphroditic In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have s ...

animals have a type of gonad called an

ovotestis An ovotestis is a gonad with both testicular and ovarian aspects. In humans, ovotestes are an infrequent anatomical variation associated with gonadal dysgenesis. The only mammals where ovotestes are not symptomatic of an intersex variation are mole ...

Evolution

It is hard to find a common origin for gonads, but gonads most likely evolved independently several times.

Regulation

The gonads are controlled by

luteinizing hormone Luteinizing hormone (LH, also known as luteinising hormone, lutropin and sometimes lutrophin) is a hormone produced by gonadotropic cells in the anterior pituitary gland. The production of LH is regulated by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) ...

and follicle-stimulating hormone, produced and secreted by gonadotropes or gonadotrophins in the

anterior pituitary gland A major organ of the endocrine system, the anterior pituitary (also called the adenohypophysis or pars anterior) is the glandular, anterior lobe that together with the posterior lobe (posterior pituitary, or the neurohypophysis) makes up the p ...

. This secretion is regulated by

gonadotropin-releasing hormone Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a releasing hormone responsible for the release of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) from the anterior pituitary. GnRH is a tropic peptide hormone synthesized and release ...

produced in the

hypothalamus The hypothalamus () is a part of the brain that contains a number of small nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. The hypothalamu ...

Development

Gonads start developing as a common primordium (an organ in the earliest stage of development), in the form of

genital ridge The genital ridge (or gonadal ridge) is the precursor to the gonads. The genital ridge initially consists mainly of mesenchyme and cells of underlying mesonephric origin. Once oogonia enter this area they attempt to associate with these somatic ce ...

s, which are only later differentiated to male or female

sex organ A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

s. The presence of the SRY

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

, located on the

Y chromosome The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes (allosomes) in therian mammals, including humans, and many other animals. The other is the X chromosome. Y is normally the sex-determining chromosome in many species, since it is the presence or abse ...

and encoding the

testis determining factor Sex-determining region Y protein (SRY), or Testis-determining factor (TDF), is a DNA-binding protein (also known as gene-regulatory protein/transcription factor) encoded by the ''SRY'' gene that is responsible for the initiation of male sex d ...

, determines male sexual differentiation. In the absence of the SRY gene from the Y chromosome, the female sex (ovaries instead of testes) will develop. The

development of the gonads The development of the gonads is part of the prenatal development of the reproductive system and ultimately forms the testes in males and the ovaries in females. The gonads initially develop from the mesothelial layer of the peritoneum. The ova ...

is a part of the

development of the urinary and reproductive organs The development of the urinary system begins during prenatal development, and relates to the development of the urogenital system – both the organs of the urinary system and the sex organs of the reproductive system. The development continues a ...

Disease

The gonads are subject to many diseases, such as

hypergonadism Hypergonadism is a condition where there is a hyperfunction of the gonads. It can manifest as precocious puberty, and is caused by abnormally high levels of testosterone or estrogen, crucial hormones for sexual development. In some cases, it may b ...

hypogonadism Hypogonadism means diminished functional activity of the gonads—the testes or the ovaries—that may result in diminished production of sex hormones. Low androgen (e.g., testosterone) levels are referred to as hypoandrogenism and low estroge ...

agonadism Gonadal dysgenesis is classified as any congenital developmental disorder of the reproductive system in the male or female. It is the atypical development of the gonads in an embryo, with reproductive tissue replaced with functionless, fibrous ti ...

, tumors, and cancer, among others.

Aging

Ovarian aging

A delay in having children is common in the developed world and this delay is often associated with ovarian infertility and subfertility. Ovarian aging is characterized by progressive decline of the quality and number of

oocyte An oocyte (, ), oöcyte, or ovocyte is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced in a female fetus in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The femal ...

sPark SU, Walsh L, Berkowitz KM. Mechanisms of ovarian aging. Reproduction. 2021 Jul 14;162(2):R19-R33. doi: 10.1530/REP-21-0022. PMID: 33999842; PMCID: PMC9354567. This decline is likely due, in part, to reduced expression of genes that encode proteins necessary for

DNA repair DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA da ...

and

meiosis Meiosis (; , since it is a reductional division) is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, such as sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately r ...

. Such reduced expression can lead to increased

DNA damage DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA d ...

and errors in meiotic recombination.

Testicular aging

The

testes A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testoste ...

of older men often have sperm abnormalities that can ultimately lead to infertility. These abnormalities include accumulation of DNA damage and decreased DNA repair abilityDong S, Chen C, Zhang J, Gao Y, Zeng X, Zhang X. Testicular aging, male fertility and beyond. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2022 Oct 13;13:1012119. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.1012119. PMID: 36313743; PMCID: PMC9606211. During spermatogenesis in the testis, spontaneous new mutations arise and tend to accumulate with ageCioppi F, Casamonti E, Krausz C. Age-Dependent De Novo Mutations During Spermatogenesis and Their Consequences. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2019;1166:29-46. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-21664-1_2. PMID: 31301044.

References

{{Authority control Glands Endocrine system Human reproductive system