A gamete contains half as many chromosomes as other cells do. Gametes are specialized sex cells that are produced by organisms for the purpose of sexual reproduction. In humans, for example, the gametes are the sperm cells produced by males and the egg cells produced by females. Each human gamete contains 23 chromosomes, which is half the number of chromosomes found in most other cells of the body (46 in humans). When a sperm and an egg combine during fertilization, the resulting zygote has the full complement of 46 chromosomes needed to form a new individual.