Early Development

 Involves increase in mass and elaboration of structures

 Stages include cleavage, blastula, and neurula
 Stage of development: zygote (cleavage) or embryo (blastula onwards)

CLASSIFICATION OF EGGS:
o Accdg to amount of yolk
 Mirolecithal (oligolecithal)- little yolk; also an isolecithal egg
- echinoderms, coelenterates, amphioxus, mammals except
monotremes
 Medialecithal (mesolecithal)- moderate amount of yolk
- annelid, mollusks, lampreys, lungfishes and amphibians
 Megalecithal (macrolecithal)- large quantities of yolk
- arthropods, hagfishes, bony fishes, reptiles, birds and monotremes
 Alecithal- eggs with no yolk at all
o Accdg to distribution of yolk
 Isolecithal- even distribution of yolk in the egg
 Telolecithal- most of the yolk is concentrated in the vegetal pole
 Centrolecithal- yolk is concentrated in the interior of the egg

Cleavage Division
 Aka segmentation
 Mechanism for cloning the zygote genome through a series of mitotic cell
division
 Leads to the production of blastomeres and formation of a blastula
 Presence of yolk may impede this process
 Yolk are pulled at the vegetal pole in medialecithal eggs due to gravity
 Macromeres- blastomeres at vegetal pole
 Micromeres- blastomeres at animal pole
 Cells with germinal vesicle

STARFISH
Unfertilized egg
 Germinal vesicle with nucleolus
 Vitelline membrane closely adhered to the egg; aka primary membrane since
it is formed by the egg (how?)
 Shortly after fertilization, the vitelline membrane lifts off the egg cell
membrane and the egg undergoes massive exocytosis of membrane bound
vesicles located in the peripheral cytoplasm. This is known as the cortical
reaction. The cortical exudate and the vitelline envelope combine to form
the fertilization membrane, which initially functions as a block to
polyspermy, and later to protect the embryo.

Fertilized egg
 Vitelline membrane now properly termed fertilization membrane
  Perivitelline space found between the fertilization membrane and the egg
 Germinal vesicle now broken down

FROG
Cortical cytoplasm- outermost layer of cytoplasm
- rotates to the area of sperm entry resulting to the formation of
grey crescent
Grey Crescent- establishes bilateral symmetry; becomes the dorsal region of the frog
while that area of sperm entry will be the ventral region
Animal Hemisphere - more darkly pigmented due to the pigment granules present
in the cortical cytoplasm of the egg that is abundant in this area
- where nucleus and polar bodies are located

Vegetal Hemisphere – lightly pigmented or unpigmented at all; sufficiently small

amount of yolk are concentrated in this area still allowing complete cleavage of the
egg.
- unpigmented cortical cytoplasm

Blastula
STARFISH
Blastocoel- centrally located cavity surrounded by a layer of epithelial cells
Blastoderm- epithelial layer of blastomeres enclosing the blastocoel
Fertilization membrane- secondary membrane

FROG
Animal Pole- micromeres
Vegetal Pole- yolk accumulate here due to gravity; macromeres
Fertilization membrane- secondary membrane since it is secreted by the follicle
cells in the ovary
 Made up by the chorion and vitelline membrane
 The function of the chorion is to contribute to the development of the
placenta in placental mammals.

Gastrulation
 First time the new embryonic genome is expressed
 Characterized by ordered rearrangements of cells after cleavage and blastula
stages
 Starts invagination at the vegetal pole (starfish)
3 kinds of movements:
1. Invagination
2. Involution
3. Epiboly

Gastrula
STARFISH
 In pocketing of the blastula with the formation of a double-layered cup
(shape)
 Flattening of the vegetal pole as the first sign of gastrulation
Blastopore- opening of the gastrocoel at the vegetal pole
Gastrocoel- will become the digestive tract of the embryo; length indicates the stage
of gastrula
 EARLY GASTRULA- short gastrocoel
 LATE GASTRULA- gastrocoel extends over half the length of the embryo;
apex seen as a thin-walled vesicle
Vesicles - diverticula or lateral pouches found at the apex of late gastrula
- gives rise to many mesodermal structures of the animal
- analogous to vertebrate coelomic sacs
Enterocoel- cavity formed from the outpocketings of the gastrocoel
Mesenchyme- stellate cells which are mesodermal in origin
- arise by budding off from the outer walls of the gastrocoel
Bipinnaria larva- formed at the end of gastrula stage
- cilia as the principal locomotory organ covering the entire ectodermal surface

FROG
 Starts with the formation of a dorsal blastoporal lip within the grey crescent
area (significance- bilateral symmetry)
 Invagination of advancing germ ring cells
 Involution of outer layer of cells so that it spreads out under the internal
surface of the outer layer of cells
Dorsal lip of the blastopore- upper margin of the blastopore; first site of involution
Ventral lip of the blastopore- marked by a deep cleft
In pocketing deepens from a crescenthorseshoecircle
Yolk plug- portion of the vegetal pole composed of endodermal cells surrounded by
dorsal, ventral and lateral lips of the blastopore
Endoderm and chordamesoderm- develops from the expanding layer of cells which
form the roof of archenteron
Blastocoel- only remnants are observed
Fertilization membrane- still observed

CHICK
 Embryo develops as a disc of cells called the blastodisc
 Starts with the formation of a primitive streak
 Starts with a thickening of cells in the posterior portion of the area pellucida
Hypoblast- cells that are splitted off from the blastodisc; becomes the endoderm;
gives rise to future embryonic membrane
Epiblast- cell that remain on top; becomes the ectoderm; gives rise to the three germ
layers
Area opaca- darker area due to the presence of yolk beneath it.
 Area pellucida- clearer since it is separated to the yolk by the segmentation cavity
aka blastocoel
Primitive streak- thickened part of the blastoderm
Primitive groove- central furrow
Primitive ridges- thickened margins on the both sides of the groove
Primitive pit- cranial most end of the streak
Hensen’s node- anterior to the primitive pit; this is where the presumptive
notochordal cells will migrate; primitive knot

ANSWER GUIDE QUESTIONS*

COMPARE THE LOCATIONS OF BLASTOCOEL IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF EGGS
END PRODUCTS OF GASTRULATION

Amount of Distribution Type of Gatrulation Site of

yolk of yolk cleavage processes gastrulation
(start)
Starfish Microlecithal Isolecithal Holoblastic Invagination Vegetal pole
(Asteroidea radial
sp.) cleavage
Frog (Rana Medialecithal Moderately Holoblastic Invagination, Grey crescent
sp.) telolecithal epiboly and area
involution
Chick Macrolecithal Highly Meroblastic Epiboly and Formation of
(Gallus telolecithal involution primitive streak
gallus on the
domestica) blastoderm

Maturation stage Number of Divisions Type of Plane

2-cell stage 1 Meridional plane
4-cell stage 2 Meridional plane
8-cell stage 3 Equatorial plane
16 cell stage 4 Meridional plane
32-cell stage 5 Equatorial plane

Maturation Process Maturation stage Stage of

development
Cleavage Division 2-, 4-, 8-cell stage, Zygote
morula
Blastulation Blastula Embryo
Gastrulation Gastrula Embryo
Neurulation Neural Plate stage Embryo
Neural Fold Stage Embryo
Neural Tube Stage Embryo
Starfish Fertilization Blastula Internal With Haploid
membrane Fertilization animal when
secondary and unfertilized
due to vegetal
cortical pole
exudates
Frog Fertilization Blastula External With
membrane Fertilization animal
released by and
the follicles vegetal
of the ovary pole
Chick ----- Blastodisc Internal With
Fertilization animal
and
vegetal
pole