Ontogenesis is the process of individual

development from fertilization to death.

 Direct development - transition from the egg to the adult form without passing
through a free-living larval stage. Animals do not go through metamorphosis.
development in egg up to hatching
development in uterus up to birth

Indirect development - transition from the egg to the adult form through a
free-living larval stage. Larva is immature animal that undergoes a profound
change, or metamorphosis, to assume the typical adult form.
The development of the embryo into a larva has various advantages. Larvae
are structurally different from adults and often are adapted to a different
environment. It allows to reduce competition for resources with the adult
population. Motile larvae help to spread the species.
Incomplete Metamorphosis: egg --- larva --- adult
The larva sheds its skin, or molts, several times as it grows.
Complete metamorphosis: egg --- larva --- pupa --- adult
The pupa usually can not move or eat and stays inside the cocoon.
 The evolutionary connections between organisms are represented
graphically through phylogenetic trees. Due to the fact that evolution
takes place over long periods of time that cannot be observed
directly, biologists must reconstruct phylogenies by inferring the
evolutionary relationships among present-day organisms.
 Ernst Haeckels biogenetic law was often expressed as
ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny", i.e. the development of an
organism exactly mirrors the evolutionary development of the
species.
The embryo's development mirroring embryos of its evolutionary
ancestors.

The embryos of many animals appear similar to one another in the

earliest stages of development and progress into their specialized
forms in later stages.
I. Ontogenesis usually is divided into two periods:
embryogenesis - period of organism development from
fertilization to hatching or birth
postembryonic development - organism development from
hatching or birth to death

II. Ontogenesis can be divided into three periods:

prereproductive, reproductive and postreproductive.

Progenesis is the process of gamete formation which precedes

ontogenesis (gametogenesis).
Ontogeny (ontogenesis) is the growth (size change), development (shape
change) and differentiation (complexity change) of an individual organism
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Sperm attraction: Action at a distance
Chemotaxis - in many species, sperm are attracted toward
eggs by following a gradient of a chemical secreted by the egg.
 the process of physiological change occurring in
Capacitation - mammalian spermatozoa during passage through the
female reproductive tract that enables them to
penetrate the egg membrane.

Capacitation involves the destabilisation of the sperm head membrane rendering

it more fusigenic. This change is facilitated by the removal of sterols (e.g.
cholesterol) and non-covalently bound epididymal/seminal glycoproteins. The
result is a more fluid membrane with an increased permiability to Ca 2+.
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Fast block polyspermy rapid depolarization prevents other sperm from fertilization
Na+ ions rush into cell.
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The types of eggs in relation to yolk content :

- Little amount of yolk - oligolecithal

- Medium amount of yolk mesolecithal

- Large amount of yolk polylecithal

 The types of eggs in relation to yolk
distribution:

1. -Yolk is spaced equally - isolecithal

2. Yolk granules are located at one pole of egg

cytoplasm telolecithal
- vegetal pole contain more yolk
moderately telolecithal
- small clear area of the animal pole of the egg is
separated from yolk filled cytoplasm
pronounced telolecithal
 Animal pole

Vegetal pole
Lancelet egg Frog egg Reptilian, bird's egg

Mammalian egg
 Cleavage is a series of successive mitotic
divisions of zygota and forming daughter
cells named blastomeres.

Result of cleavage is formation of blastula

that is multicellular unilayer embryo having
cavity - blastocoel.
Pattern of cleavage depends on amount and
distribution of yolk within the egg
cytoplasm.
Holoblastic (complete) cleavage blastoderm

Lancetfish - equal blastocoel

blastocoel

micromeres
Amphibians - unequal

macromeres
Meroblastic (incomplete) cleavage
 blastoderm
yolk subgerminal
cavity

Birds discoblastula
embryoblast
blastocoel

trophoblast

Mammals blastocyst
(dynein)
Totipotency

Totipotency is the ability of a single cell

to divide and produce all the
differentiated cells in an organism
 Cell mechanisms of development:
cell division (proliferation)
movement (migration)
cell adhesion
cellular differentiation
programmed cell death (apoptosis)

Mechanism of embryo intergration

cell-cell interactions
embryonic induction
neural and humoral regulation
 Cell mechanisms of development:
cell division (proliferation)
movement (migration)
cell adhesion
cellular differentiation
programmed cell death (apoptosis)

Mechanism of embryo intergration

cell-cell interactions
embryonic induction
neural and humoral regulations
Ovoplasmic segregation
Animal pole

Vegetal pole

ovoplasmic segregation
create distinct
cytoplasmic domains that
are crucial for later
development.
meridional cleavage furrow meridional cleavage furrow equatorial cleavage furrow
Normal embryo
Compaction
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Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Cephalochordata (Acraniata) (lancelets)
Subphylum Vertebrata (Craniata) (vertebrates animals with
backbones;)Class 'Agnatha'Paraphyletic (jawless vertebrates; 100+
species)Subclass Myxinoidea (hagfish; 65 species)Subclass Petromyzontida
(Lampreys)Subclass ConodontaSubclass Pteraspidomorphi (Paleozoic
jawless fish)Order AnaspidaOrder Thelodonti (Paleozoic jawless
fish)Infraphylum Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates)Class Placodermi
(Paleozoic armoured forms)Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish; 900+
species)Class Acanthodii (Paleozoic "spiny sharks")Class Osteichthyes
(bony fishes; 30,000+ species)Subclass Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish;
about 30,000 species)Subclass Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish)Superclass
Tetrapoda (four-legged vertebrates; 18,000+ species)Class Amphibia
(amphibians; 6,000 species)Series Amniota (with amniotic egg)Class
Reptilia (reptiles; 8,225+ species)Subclass Anapsida (extinct "proto-
reptiles" and possibly turtles)Subclass Synapsida (mammal-like "reptiles";
4,500+ species, progenitors of mammals)Subclass Diapsida (majority of
reptiles, progenitors of birds)Class Aves (birds; 8,80010,000
species)Class Mammalia (mammals; 5,800 species)[edit]