S1: Early Human Devlopment Flashcards
Where does fertilisation usually occur?
Ampulla region of the oviduct
How long does implantation usually take?
A week
What wafts the ovulated oocyte into the oviduct?
Fimbriae
What does the fertilised zygote contain?
- 2 haploid nuclei (one from the male gamete, one from the female gamete)
- 2 polar bodies produced as a result of the large stage of oogenesis when meiosis is complete
What surrounds the fertilised zygote?
The zona pellucida (a non cellular structure) like the shell of the egg
What is cleavage?
The zygote dividing into a 2 cell zygote and then a 4 cell zygote.
What is the ploidy of the cell during cleavage?
Diploid
Does the zygote increase in size during cleavage?
No, with cleavage divisions the egg doesn’t get bigger despite there being an increase in cells.
What is the egg called when it reached 12-15 cells?
Morula
What is compaction?
The zona pellucida dissolves and shape of egg changes internally. This is as the egg prepared to implant.
What is the egg called when it is 32-64 cells?
Blastocyst
How many days does it take for the egg to become a blastocyst?
Days 4/5
What are two types of cells in the blastocyst?
What is the rest of the egg called?
- Trophoblast cell layer on the outside (of the internal enviroment of egg). This is all to do with the implanting procedure.
- Inner cell mass which sticks into the middle slightly and will form the embryo body
The rest of the egg is called the blastocoele.
What does totipotent mean?
They can become any type of cell
What determines a cell’s fate?
- Cell fate (specialisation) depends on the genes expressed in that cell
- All cells contain the same genomic DNA, but only a subset of genes are expressed in any one cell
- Gene expression is controlled by transcription factors (and modification of DNA/histones)
- Cell fate in the embryo is determined by signals from surrounding cells
- These signals involve a cascade of events from receptor to transduction pathway to transcription factor
- The first cell two cell fate decisions set aside cells that form the placenta and extraembryonic membranes (eg amnion)
List some preimplantation applications
- Animals (e.g. Dolly) are cloned from a somatic nucleus and put into an enucleated unfertilised egg
- ICM cells can be removed and cultured as embryonic stem (ES) cells