figure 4.5 MZ and DZ twins at conception At conception, a sperm cell fuses with an egg cell to form a zygote, the initial cell capable of developing into a complete organism. On rare occasions (less than 1 in 200 conceptions), the zygote splits, forming two embryos that are genetically identical (left panel). When these embryos develop, they become MZ twins—two individuals who originate from one (“mono”) zygote. Since they developed from the same original zygote, MZ twins share 100% of their genes. Fraternal (dizygotic) twins develop from two separate zygotes. They thus are no more or less similar than ordinary siblings.