Types of eggs

Eggs classified according to the amount or distribution of yolk. According to the amount of yolk , the egg arranged into the following: 1. Alecithal : Without yolk. eg. mammal 2. Oligolecithal : Small amount. eg. amphioxus 3. Mesolecithal: Moderate amount. eg. toad 4. Polylecithal : Large amount . eg. Bird

According to distribution of yolk : 1. Homolecithal: The yolk equally distributed throughout the cytoplasm. Eg. Amphioxus. 2. Centrolecithal: The yolk concentrated in a net like structure arround the nucleus. Eg. Insects. 3. Telolecithal: The yolk deposited in vegetal pole. Light telolecithal type with moderate amount of yolk (eg. Toad). Heavy lellecithal type with large amount of yolk (eg. Bird).

Pattern of cleavage
1. Holoblastic cleavage (radial): a. Equal holoblastic: The zygote gives two equal blastomeres. Eg. Amphioxus. b. Unequal holoblastic: The zygote give two unequal blastomeres. Eg. Toad. 2. Meroblastic cleavage: a. Superficial cleavage: The nucleus divides into several ones which migrate toward the surface which surround by cytoplam .eg. Insects. b. Discoidal cleavage : Localized in germinal disc. Eg. Birds.

Holoblastic: 1.Radial 2.Spiral-Molusca 3.Bilateral-Ascaris

Radial vs. spiral cleavage

Radial cleavage Spiral cleavage

First quartet of cells

Second quartet lies directly on top of first quartet

Second quartet lies in depressions between first quartet. Top cells are micromeres and bottom cells are macromeres.

Spiral cleavage
E.B. Wilson developed a numbering scheme to follow individual cells through spiral cleavage. Macromeres and micromeres are grouped into quartets and numbered according to first quartet ancestor and number of cell divisions. Allows embryologists to follow cell fates and compare development in various taxa.

Cell cleavage
A fertilized egg is a zygote. The zygote splits and the resulting cells are blastomeres.

Holoblastic cleavage - cleavage planes pass all the way through the cell. Occurs in isolecithal and weakly telolecithal zygotes.

Meroblastic cleavage cleavage planes do not pass through dense yolk so blastomeres are not separated from each other.

Cell cleavage
First cell division is parallel to the animal-vegetal pole (longitudinal division)

Second cell division is also parallel to the animalvegetal pole

Third cell division is perpendicular to the animal-vegetal pole (transverse division), sometimes resulting in micromeres and macromeres

Sea Urchin

Cleavage in a frog embryo

Amphibian

Superficial Cleavage insects

If we were to turn directly to the early ontogeny of placental mammals, we would see rather large and fundamental differences from the picture we have gained of the basal amniote condition as modeled by reptiles/birds. We can make the more easily and less abruptly if we consider the phylogenetic context of all mammals, and in clued all groups of extant mammals: MAMMALIA Prototheria - the egg laying mammals, currently restricted in a relict distribution in Australia and New Guinea (the platypus and echidna) Theria - mammals with internal development Metatheria - the marsupials (pouched mammals) in which the young leave the womb in a very premature stage to complete their development in an external pouch Eutheria - the placental mammals in which young are born in amore fully developed state.

Placenthal Mammals

4. Blastulation
The result (end period) of cleavage. The production of a multicellular blastula Blastula cells are called blastomeres. A cavity forms within the ball of the cells called the blastocoel.

Blastula types

Coeloblastula formed from isolecithal eggs that undergo radial cleavage

Stereoblastula formed from spiral cleavage

Discoblastula formed from meroblastic cleavage

Periblastula formed from centrolecithal eggs

Sea urchin blastula- celoblastula

Amphioksus blastulaceloblastula

Blastula of frog-amphiblastula

Birds-diskoblastula

Blastula of birds

Human blastula-blastocist