Principal Features of Development: 1. Fertilization/ Insemination/pollination/ Fecundation/ Syngamy and Impregnation

Developmental Biology 4(3+1)
1. Principal features of development

There are following principal processes in vertebrates.
1. Fertilization
2. Cleavage
3. Gastrulation
4. Organogenesis
5. Metamorphosis
6. Gametogenesis
7. Death
1. Fertilization/ insemination/pollination/ fecundation/ syngamy and impregnation

It is the fusion of haploid gametes, egg and sperm, to form the diploid zygote. The mechanics
behind fertilisation has been studied extensively in sea urchins and mice. There are three steps
to fertilisation that ensure species-specificity:
1. Chemotaxis
2. Sperm activation/acrosomal reaction
3. Sperm/egg adhesion
Acrosome reaction on a sea urchin cell.
Sperm find the eggs via chemotaxis. Chemotaxis is the movement of an organism in response to a
chemical stimulus. After finding the egg, the sperm penetrates the jelly coat through a process
called sperm activation. An oligosaccharide component of the egg binds and activates a receptor
on the sperm and causes the acrosomal reaction. The acrosomal vesicles of the sperm fuse with
Course Instructor: Ghulam Muhayyaodin

the plasma membrane and are released. In this process, molecules bound to the acrosomal vesicle
membrane, such as bindin, are exposed on the surface of the sperm. These contents digest the jelly
coat and eventually the vitelline membrane. In addition to the release of acrosomal vesicles, there
is explosive polymerisation of actin to form a thin spike at the head of the sperm called the
acrosomal process. The sperm binds to the egg through another ligand reaction between receptors
on the vitelline membrane. Fusion of the plasma membranes of the sperm and egg are likely
mediated by bindin. At the site of contact, fusion causes the formation of a fertilisation cone.
Bindin may refer to: A protein involved in the process of sea urchin fertilization, which is a form
of species-specific recognition of the egg by the sperm.
2. Cleavage
In embryology, cleavage is the division of cells in the early embryo. The process follows
fertilization, with the transfer being triggered by the activation of a cyclin-dependent kinase
complex. A cyclin-dependent kinase complex (CDKC, cyclin-CDK) is a protein complex.The
processes of karyokinesis (mitosis) and cytokinesis work together to result in cleavage. The mitotic
apparatus is made up of a central spindle and polar asters made up of polymers of tubulin protein
called microtubules. The asters are nucleated by centrosomes and the centrosomes are organized
by centrioles brought into the egg by the sperm as basal bodies. Cytokinesis is mediated by the
contractile ring made up of polymers of actin protein called microfilaments. Karyokinesis and
cytokinesis are independent but spatially and temporally coordinated processes. While mitosis can
occur in the absence of cytokinesis, cytokinesis requires the mitotic apparatus. The end of cleavage
coincides with the beginning of zygotic transcription.

3. Gastrulation
Gastrulation is a phase early in the embryonic development of most animals, during which
the single-layered blastula is reorganized into a multilayered structure known as the
gastrula. Before gastrulation, the embryo is a continuous epithelial sheet of cells; by the
end of gastrulation, the embryo has begun differentiation to establish distinct cell lineages,
set up the basic axes of the body (e.g. dorsal-ventral, anterior-posterior), and internalized
one or more cell types including the prospective gut.
A morula (Latin, morus: mulberry) is an early-stage embryo consisting of 16 cells (called
blastomeres) in a solid ball contained within the zona pellucida.
The blastula (from Greek βλαστός (blastos), meaning "sprout") is a hollow sphere of cells,
referred to as blastomeres, surrounding an inner fluid-filled cavity called the blastocoele
formed during an early stage of embryonic development in animals. Gastrula is an embryo
at the stage following the blastula, when it is a hollow cup-shaped structure having three
layers of cells. In triploblastic organisms the gastrula is trilaminar ("three-layered"). These
three germ layers are known as the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. In diploblastic
organisms, such as Cnidaria and Ctenophora, the gastrula has only ectoderm and endoderm.
The two layers are also sometimes referred to as the hypoblast and epiblast. Gastrulation
takes place after cleavage and the formation of the blastula. Gastrulation is followed by
organogenesis, when individual organs develop within the newly formed germ layers.

First stages of division of mammalian embryo. Semidiagrammatic. (From a drawing by

Allen Thomson.) z.p. Zona striata. p.gl. Polar bodies. a. Two-cell stage. b. Four-cell stage.
c. Eight-cell stage. d, e. Morula stage.
4. Organogenesis

Organogenesis is the process by which the three germ tissue layers of the embryo, which
are the ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm, develop into the internal organs of the
organism. Organogenesis is the phase of embryonic development that starts at the end of
gastrulation and continues until birth.
5. Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth
or hatching, involving abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth
and differentiation. Some insects, fish, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, cnidarians,
echinoderms, and tunicates undergo metamorphosis, which is often accompanied by a
change of nutrition source or behavior. Animals can be divided into species that undergo
complete metamorphosis ("holometaboly"), incomplete metamorphosis ("hemimetaboly"),
or no metamorphosis ("ametaboly").
Metamorphosis of butterfly
6. Gametogenesis

It is the process whereby a haploid cell (n) is formed from a diploid cell (2n) through meiosis and
cell differentiation. Gametogenesis in the male is known as spermatogenesis and produces
spermatozoa. Gametogenesis in the female is known as oogenesis and result in the formation of
ova.
7. Death
Death is the cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which
commonly bring about death include aging, predation, malnutrition, disease, suicide, homicide,
starvation, dehydration, and accidents or major trauma resulting in fatal injury. The remains of a
living organism begin to decompose shortly after death.

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Developmental Biology 4(3+1)

1. Principal features of development

1. Fertilization/ insemination/pollination/ fecundation/ syngamy and impregnation

Acrosome reaction on a sea urchin cell.

Course Instructor: Ghulam Muhayyaodin

Course Instructor: Ghulam Muhayyaodin

Course Instructor: Ghulam Muhayyaodin

First stages of division of mammalian embryo. Semidiagrammatic. (From a drawing by

Course Instructor: Ghulam Muhayyaodin

Course Instructor: Ghulam Muhayyaodin

Course Instructor: Ghulam Muhayyaodin

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