Question

When does a polar body form?

Answer 1

Polar body formation takes place during oogenesis, i.e. during meiosis. It takes place twice, both during M1 and M2, due to unequal cytokinesis.

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Primary oocyte enters meiosis. The future egg cell already accumulates special molecules. Unequal cytokinesis helps in preserving resources within one cell, as polar body receives almost no cytoplasm.

At the end of oogenesis instead of four possible gametes only one is formed but it preserves a lot of cytoplasmic material important for embryogenesis after fertilisation.