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Meiosis II

Meiosis II

Meiosis II is the second and final stage of meiosis. It relies on the haploid cells produced during meiosis I, each of which contain only 23 chromosomes—one from each homologous initial pair. Importantly, each chromosome in these cells is composed of two joined copies, and when these cells enter meiosis II, the goal is to separate such sister chromatids using the same microtubule-based network employed in other division processes. The result of meiosis II is two haploid cells, each containing...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 7, 2026

An Experimental and Bioinformatics Protocol for RNA-seq Analyses of Photoperiodic Diapause in the Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus

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Embryonic diapause in humans: time to consider?

Grazyna E Ptak¹, Jacek A Modlinski, Pasqualino Loi

¹Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Teramo, Piazza A, Moro, Teramo 64100, Italy. gptak@unite.it.

Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology : RB&E

|September 19, 2013

Summary

Embryonic diapause (ED), a reversible delay in embryo development, may be an ancestral mammalian trait. Research suggests sheep possess ED, challenging previous assumptions and potentially impacting human pregnancy care.

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Area of Science:

Reproductive biology
Developmental biology
Mammalian evolution

Background:

Embryonic diapause (ED) is a reversible delay in blastocyst development when the uterus is unreceptive.
ED is observed in approximately 100 mammalian species but not considered universal.
Recent findings indicate sheep, previously considered non-diapause, are capable of ED.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose that embryonic diapause is an ancestral trait common to all mammals, including humans.
To challenge the established understanding of mammalian reproductive strategies.

Main Methods:

Indirectly observing human fertility patients.
Directly studying the embryos of non-human primates.
Investigating the capacity for ED in species not previously known to exhibit it.

Main Results:

Sheep, a non-diapause species, demonstrate the capacity for embryonic diapause.
This finding supports the hypothesis that ED is an ancestral mammalian trait.

Conclusions:

The hypothesis suggests embryonic diapause may be a conserved, ancestral characteristic across all mammals.
Confirmation would necessitate re-evaluation of obstetric interventions for prolonged human pregnancies.