Embryonic development of frog

Mating behaviour in frog

 Embryonic development of animal proceeds through various
activities in chronological order such as fertilization, zygote,
formation, cleavage, morulation, blastulation, gastrulation,
formation of germinal layers and organogenesis.
 During rainy season, sexually matured male frog produces a
croaking sound; also called sexual call. This sound attracts an adult
female and thus they come close to each other. The adult male has
an adhesive pad in the first finger of forelimbs called nuptial finger.
 There is also slightly changes in colour and brightness of the skin of
male frog during breeding season. The male frog during mating
mounts over the back of the female and firmly clasps her body with
the help of nuptial fingers.
 This sexual embrace is called amplexus. As tightness increases
female easily lay eggs in a mass in the shallow water through cloaca
and the male releases sperms called insemination over the eggs
which cause external fertilization.
Embryonic development of frog
Fertilization
 Fertilization involves the fusion of sperm nucleus with the egg nucleus. The spermatozoa
are motile gametes that can swim in water actively and thus a large number of sperms
move towards an ovum but a single sperm which first approaches the egg or ovum can only
fertilize it.
 During the process sperm first penetrates the vitelline membranes of egg with the help of
acrosomal fluid and then enters into the cytoplasm.
 The acrossomal enzyme consists of species specific chemicals, that is why the sperm of
same species can only fertilize the egg. The sperm discards its tail piece and middle piece
while gettingthrough the vitelline membranes and thus only the head piece gets
introduced into the egg.
 While the sperm is getting through inner vitelline membrane, a dense fluidly substance
oozes out from egg's protoplasm and collected between the vitalline membranes. This
fluidy substance immediately settles there forming a membranous structure called
fertilization membrane. This membrance forms the egg impormeable for other sperms
and prevents multiple fertilization.
 When sperm gets introduced into egg protoplasm, it induces egg for the completion of
meiosis - II division of oogenesis to form a second polar body.
 When sperm nucleus is proceeding towards egg's nucleus, a large number of pigments are
accumulated just opposit to the direction of sperm's entry above the equatorial line
towards animal hemisphere of egg, called grey crescent. The sperm's nucleus, also called
male pronucleus (n) ultimately fuses with the egg's nucleus, also called female
pronucleus (n) to form a diploid nucleus (2n). The egg with diploid nucleus is called
fertilized egg or zygote.
Embryonic development of frog
The fertilization brings about following changes in the egg:
a. Appearance of second polar body or activation of egg to
undergo second maturation division.
b. Formation of fertilization membrane, which checks up
entry for more than one sperm into the egg.
c. Appearance of grey crescent which marks the area of
future blastopore.
d. Set up of diploid nucleus (2n) by fusion of male pronucleus
(n) and female pronucleus (n) to change the egg into
zygote.
Zygote or fertilized egg or oosperm shows the
presumptive areas such as anterior portion gives ectoderm,
posterior or vegetal region gives endoderm where as
crescent shaped granular area gives rise to mesoderm.
Embryonic development of frog
Cleavage
 The zygote divides repeatedly by mitotic divisions to give rise to multicellular embryo, such
type of early mitotic divisions of the zygote is called cleavage. Cleavage is also called
segmentation. The cleavage in frog is holoblastic type, that means a complete division of
a zygote or embryo into two halves. It takes place in a regular manner up to 32 celled stage
embryo.
 Cleavage starts few hours after zygote formation . The cleavage takes place as follows:
i. The first cleavage is equal and vertical. The dividing furrow passes through animal pole to
vegetal pole which divides zygote into two equal and similar cells called blastomeres. It
results into two celled stage embryo.
ii. The second cleavage is also equal and vertical division but at right angle to the plane of first
division which gives four celled stage embryo.
iii. The third cleavage is an unequal and that takes place towards the animal hemisphere,
above the equator which cuts four cells unequally into eight cells. The four cells towards
animal hemisphere are smaller and pigmented, called micromeres also called epimeres
and four cells towards vegetal hemisphere are larger and they are filled with yolky substances
large called hypomeres or macromeres. The embryo after third cleavage is called eight
celled stage embryo. Both the micromeres and macromeres are called blastomeres
because they form the blastula in the near future.
iv. The fourth cleavage is accomplished with two more vertical divisions at right angle to each
other and forms sixteen celled stage embryo. It is immediately followed by fifth cleavage,
that is also accomplished with two more horizontal divisions and gives thirty two celled
stage embryo.
v. After the thirty two celled stage embryo, the divisions are in irregular manner, because yolk
free micromeres divide rapidly than the macromeres.
Embryonic development of frog
Morula Stage
 After thirty two celled stage, both micromeres and megameres keep dividing
continuously in irregular manner producing large number of cells. But
micromeres divide quite faster than megameres.
 So, the number of micromeres widely exceeds the number of megameres in the
embryo.
 Due to repeatedly division of cells, embryo develops as a compact ball of cells
giving a mulberry like appearance, called morulla stage, also known as
mulberry stage.
Blastula Stage
 Due to unequal and irregular divisions of blastomeres, a small cavity appears
inside the embryo as a segmentation cavity, which is later increased in size and
filled with a fluid; that fluid filled cavity is called blastocoel.
 The late blastula stage is composed of different presumptive areas. The roof of
the cavity is covered with compactly arranged yolkless pigmented micromeres,
the floor of the cavity is covered with yolk cells or macromeres and at the lateral
sides with presumptive mesodermal cells.
 Hence, at the last stage, there are seen various presumptive areas in the blastula;
which later give rise to various embryonic structures and the germinal layers
such as ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm as shown in the figure below.
Embryonic development of frog
3. Gastrulation (Formation of Gastrula Stage)
 The blastula stage proceeds through various activities to develop into the gastrula
stage, called gastrulation.
 The prominent activity during gastrulation is the migration and re-arrangement of
the cells of blastula stage.
 Due to this, double walled embryo with two cavities namely, blastocoel and
archenteron are developed. The cells are specialized to form various germinal
areas.
 The entire process of gastrulation can be summarized under following successive
stages-
i. Epiboly: The micromeres divide rapidly in comparison to megameres. It causes the
micromeres proliferate towards the vegetal hemisphere from outside so as to
covering the entire embryo with an envelope of micromeres. But a small area near
grey crescent is left uncovered, which appears as a small depression called
blastopore. The presumptive ectodermal layer encloses presumptive mesoderm
and endoderm.
ii. Imboly: The rapidly dividing micromeres start rolling inwardly through
blastopore. Due to this, blastopore is pushed inside, this is called invagination of
blastopore. It results into the formation of second cavity known as archenteron.
The progressively ongoing invagination process causes increase in size of
archenteron and reduction in size of blastocoel accordingly.
Embryonic development of frog
iii. Contraction of blastopore:
After formation of a full sized archenteron, the still inwardly migrating micromeres
exert pressure on the floor of archenteron. Due to this, a small mass of yolk laden
megameres is protruded out from the ventral lip of the blastopore; this mass is called
yolk plug.
iv. Involution:
 The macromeres around the archenteron gradually forms an endodermal layer, and
some cells near the blastopore initially known as chordamesodermal cells separate
into notochordal cells and mesodermal cells.
 Notochordal cells from notochordal plate. The mesodermal cells extend on either
sides of notochordal plate as two lateral blocks.
 The two lateral blocks of mesoderm then expand towards roof and floor of
archenteron just beneath the ectoderm. The rearrangement of cells, basically in-
turning or inward movement of rapidly proliferating mesodermal cells to form an
underlying layer beneath the ectoderm is referred to as involution.
 The ectodermal and endodermal cells also proliferate to form their concentric rings.
v. Rotation of the embryo:
 As the biostopore progressively invaginates, archenteron increases in size remarkably
with the demination of blastocoel cavity.
 It changes the gravity centre of the embryo and causes the gastrula revolves within the
vitelline membrane so that blastopore lies near the vegetal pole of the embryo; this is
called rotation of embryo.
Embryonic development of frog
4. Post-gastrular Development or Organogenesis
 Formation of various body parts and organs takes place from the germinal areas or
layers of post-gastrular embryo is called organogenesis.
a. Nerve cord formation or neurulation
 At late gastrula stage, the ectodermal or neural plate is located at the outer lining of
mid-dorsal roof of archenteron. When neural cells of that plate divide progressively,
two lateral edges rise up forming a depression at the middle.
 The raised edges are called neural folds, while the median depression is called
neural groove. The neural surfaces just beneath the neural folds are called neural
crests .
 With further division of cells the neural groove sinks downwards while the neural
folds grow upwards and come close to each other and ultimately fuse with each other
forming a hallow and tubular structure known as neural canal or neural tube.
 The neural tube elongates forming a broad region anteriorly and a narrow tubular
region posteriorly. The broad region of neural tube later gives rise to brain.
 The narrow tubular part extends downwards and opens into the blastopore through
an opening, called neuro-enteric pore.
 The pore is later closed and rest of the tubular part gives rise to spinal cord. The
neural crests initially located beneath the neural folds form spinal nerves, parts of
autonomous nervous system, etc.
Embryonic development of frog
b.Notochord formation or Notogenesis
After gastrulation, the cells of the notochordal plate
located at the inner lining of the roof of the archenteron
divide rapidly and arrange circularly forming a cylindrical
rod like structure called notochord.
It lies just beneath the nerve cord and is completely
mesodermal in origin. It becomes the axial endoskeleton
of the embryo.
The notochord is later changes into the vertebral column.
Embryonic development of frog
c. Formation of three germinal layers
 Three germinal layers are formed simultaneously along with the formation
of neural tube and notachord.
 At late gastrula stage, ectoderm forms an outer envelope of the embryo
almost as a regular circle except in the area of neural plate.
 But, after neurogenesis, the newly formed neural tube slightly sinks
downwards and the area occupied by later is replaced with peripheral
ectodermal cells.
 Thus, a complete outer ring of ectoderm is formed as a germinal layer
called ectodermal layer.
 Similarly, after notogenesis, the notochordal plate is developed into
notochord and it slightly rises up in position. The space below notochord
is then occupied by laterally located mesodermal cells forming a regular
ring of germinal layer at the middle, known as mesodermal layer.
 At the same time, the endoderm located towards the floor of the
archenteron proliferates upwards from both the lateral sides.
 The lateral folds of endoderm fuse together below the notochord forming a
third regular ring of innermost germinal layer, called endodermal layer.
Embryonic development of frog
Fate of Three Germinal Layers
Three germinal layers are the ectoderm, mesoderm and
endoderm. These layers give rise to various body organs during the
course of embryonic development, such as:
i. Ectodermal layer: It gives epidermis of skin, cutaneous glands,
epithelial layers, olfactory organs, mouth cavity, lens, cornea of
retina, nervous system, etc.
ii.Mesodernal layer: It forms muscles, skeletons, connective tissues,
notochord, dermis of skin, excretory organs, reproductive organs,
spleen, portions of eye ball, etc. Endodermal layers Lining of digestive
tract, gastrointestinal glands, liver, pancreas, pharynx, thyroid gland,
lining of urinary bladder, respiratory tract, etc.
iii. Endodermal layer: After the separation of chorda-
mesodermal cells from the mesendodermal cells, the remaining
portions are the endodermal cells. Endodermal cells grow upward
around the archenteron to form the gut, later forms. It also digestive
glands, thyroid, parathyroid glands, trachea, urinary bladder, etc.
Embryonic development of frog
Coelom Formation
Coelom is a body cavity found in animals from the phylum
coelenterata upto the chordata. In the lower invertebrates like
coelenterates and platyhelminthes coelom is pseudocoel or false
cavity bounded by endodermal layer and without coelomic fluid.
In the higher invertebrates and the vertebrates the true coelom is
present and it is found filled with coelomic or splanchnic fluid
and lies within mesodermal layers.
The true coelom is formed by split of mesodermal layer during
post gastrular development of embryo.
In frog, three germinal layers viz. ectoderm mesodersm and
endoderm are formed after gastrulation.
Among them, the mesodermal layer first divides into three
blocks; epimere, mesomere and hypomere.
Epimere is further divided into dermatome, myotome and
scleratome; which give rise to dermis of skin, muscles and
connective tissues respectively.
Embryonic development of frog
Mesomere splits partially forming a central canal called
nephrostome, which later gives rise to lumens of
excretory organs, reproductive organs, etc.
The coelom is formed by splitting of hypomere. It is a
largest cup shaped block of mesoderm with lateral plate.
The lateral plate first splits separating into an outer somatic
or parietal layer and inner visceral or splanchnic layer. A
cavity is developed between these two layers called
splanchnocoel, which is filled with splanchnic fluid or
parietal fluid.
The splanchnocoel is a primitive coelom, which later gets
twisted and splits into various body cavities such as
thoracic, abdomonal, pelvic cavities, etc.
Hence, coelom in frog is mesodermal in origin and it is a
perivisceral cavity.