Lecture 2 - Vertebrates from egg to embryo Flashcards
What makes an animal a vertebrate?
has a head, dorsal nerve chord & notochord
notochord = precursor to modern day vertebrate
Describe the similarity/differences in early embryonic development in vertebrates
SIMILARITIES
- once a level of polarity
DIFFERENCES
- oocytes if different sizes
- formation of an embryo is very different
What stage of embryonic development is consistent between vertebrates?
phargyngula stage
What highly repeated structures were observed by Haeckel?
- vertebrates tend to have 5-9 pharyngeal pouches
- somites are also repeated
- meta metric structures - repeated modules - SEGREGATIO
What is likely to have caused the similarities in development in vertebrates?
a ‘bottle-neck’ during developmemnt that are evolutionarily conserved
What occurs after the sperm meets the egg?
cleavage (division) occurs synchronously
What is the name given to cells when dividing?
blastomeres
What occurs during the blastula stage?
- cells are on the outside of the inside cavity
What is the name given to cells on the exterior during the blastula?
blastoderm
What is the name given to cells in the cavity during the blastula stage?
blastocoel
How often do cells in the embryo tend to divide?
Every 30 minutes
What is the equation to work out the number of cells in early cell proliferation?
N(start) x 2^(txf) = N finish
N = number of cells
t = time
f = frequency
What occurs directly after sperm entry?
a wave of free Ca2+ (calcium) ion travel across the egg.
What is the purpose of the wave of calcium after sperm entry?
- allows development to proceed, as calcium acts on proteins that controls the cell cycle to initiate cleavage (cell division)
What occurs to ensure that cell division is synchronised?
- oscillations in Ca2+ levels during early development.
- small release of calcium before divisions where cleavage is occurring
What stages are there in the cell cycle in the early embryo?
“rapid synchronous cleavage”
- S&M phase only, no G phase
What process is suppressed in the cell cycle in the early embryo?
transcription
What provides the building blocks for DNA synthesis & growth?
maternal store (RNA & protein)
What occurs in the S stage?
synthesis - DNA replication
What occurs in the M stage?
mitosis - nuclear division
cytokinesis - cytoplasmic division