Gametes, informally
sex cells, are the mature
haploid reproductive (germ) cells of higher organisms. The gametes of females are called
eggs, the gametes of males are called
sperm. When a sperm and an egg (normally of the same
species) fuse, they form a
zygote, a
diploid cell that grows to a new organism, which carries half of the
DNA of both father and mother.
Organs that produce gametes are called gonads in animals, or archegonia and antheridia[?] in plants.