43.5B: Cleavage, the Blastula Stage, and Gastrulation
- Describe the events that occur from the formation of a zygote to gastrulation
Cleavage and Blastula Stage
The development of multi-cellular organisms begins from a single-celled zygote, which undergoes rapid cell division to form the blastula. The rapid, multiple rounds of cell division are termed cleavage. After the cleavage has produced over 100 cells, the embryo is called a blastula. The blastula is usually a spherical layer of cells (the blastoderm) surrounding a fluid-filled or yolk-filled cavity (the blastocoel). Mammals at this stage form a structure called the blastocyst, characterized by an inner cell mass that is distinct from the surrounding blastula. During cleavage, the cells divide without an increase in mass; that is, one large single-celled zygote divides into multiple smaller cells. Each cell within the blastula is called a blastomere.
Cleavage can take place in two ways: holoblastic (total) cleavage or meroblastic (partial) cleavage. The type of cleavage depends on the amount of yolk in the eggs. In placental mammals (including humans) where nourishment is provided by the mother’s body, the eggs have a very small amount of yolk and undergo holoblastic cleavage. Other species, such as birds, with a lot of yolk in the egg to nourish the embryo during development, undergo meroblastic cleavage.
In mammals, the blastula forms the blastocyst in the next stage of development. Here the cells in the blastula arrange themselves in two layers: the inner cell mass and an outer layer called the trophoblast. The inner cell mass is also known as the embryoblast; this mass of cells will go on to form the embryo. At this stage of development, the inner cell mass consists of embryonic stem cells that will differentiate into the different cell types needed by the organism. The trophoblast will contribute to the placenta and nourish the embryo.
Gastrulation
The typical blastula is a ball of cells. The next stage in embryonic development is the formation of the body plan. The cells in the blastula rearrange themselves spatially to form three layers of cells in a process known as gastrulation. During gastrulation, the blastula folds upon itself to form the three layers of cells. Each of these layers is called a germ layer, which differentiate into different organ systems.
Differentiation of germ layers : The three germ layers give rise to different cell types in the animal body: the ectoderm forms the nervous system and the outer layer of skin, the mesoderm gives rise to muscles and connective tissues, and the endoderm gives rise to the lining of the digestive system and other internal organs.
The three germs layers are the endoderm, the ectoderm, and the mesoderm. The ectoderm gives rise to the nervous system and the epidermis; the mesoderm gives rise to the muscle cells and connective tissue in the body; and the endoderm gives rise to columnar cells found in the digestive system and many internal organs.
Contributions and Attributions
- zona pellucida. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zona_pellucida . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- OpenStax College, Biology. October 17, 2013. Provided by : OpenStax CNX. Located at : http://cnx.org/content/m44846/latest...ol11448/latest . License : CC BY: Attribution
- Fertilization. Provided by : Wikipedia. Located at : en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertilization . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- polyspermy. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polyspermy . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- acrosome. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/acrosome . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- fertilization. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fertilization . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- OpenStax College, Fertilization and Early Embryonic Development. October 17, 2013. Provided by : OpenStax CNX. Located at : http://cnx.org/content/m44846/latest...43_05_01ab.jpg . License : CC BY: Attribution
- OpenStax College, Biology. October 17, 2013. Provided by : OpenStax CNX. Located at : http://cnx.org/content/m44846/latest...ol11448/latest . License : CC BY: Attribution
- OpenStax College, Biology. October 23, 2013. Provided by : OpenStax CNX. Located at : http://cnx.org/content/m44846/latest...ol11448/latest . License : CC BY: Attribution
- blastula. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blastula . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- blastomere. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blastomere . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- gastrulation. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gastrulation . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- trophoblast. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/trophoblast . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- meroblastic. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/meroblastic . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- holoblastic. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/holoblastic . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- inner cell mass. Provided by : Wiktionary. Located at : en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inner_cell_mass . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
- OpenStax College, Fertilization and Early Embryonic Development. October 17, 2013. Provided by : OpenStax CNX. Located at : http://cnx.org/content/m44846/latest...43_05_01ab.jpg . License : CC BY: Attribution
- OpenStax College, Fertilization and Early Embryonic Development. October 17, 2013. Provided by : OpenStax CNX. Located at : http://cnx.org/content/m44846/latest...e_43_05_03.jpg . License : CC BY: Attribution
- OpenStax College, Fertilization and Early Embryonic Development. October 17, 2013. Provided by : OpenStax CNX. Located at : http://cnx.org/content/m44846/latest...e_43_05_04.jpg . License : CC BY: Attribution
Key Points
- A single-celled zygote will undergo multiple rounds of cleavage, or cell division, in order to produced a ball of cells, called a blastula, with a fluid-filled cavity in its center, called a blastocoel.
- In animals with little yolk in the egg, the zygote undergoes holoblastic cleavage, in which the entire zygote is cleaved repeatedly; in animals with a lot of yolk in the egg, the zygote undergoes meroblastic cleavage, in which only part of the zygote is cleaved.
- The blastula eventually organizes itself into two layers: the inner cell mass (which will become the embryo) and the outer layer or trophoblast (which will become the placenta ); the structure is now called a blastocyst.
- During gastrulation, the blastula folds in on itself to form three germ layers, the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm, that will give rise to the internal structures of the organism.
Key Terms
- blastula : a 6-32-celled hollow structure that is formed after a zygote undergoes cell division
- blastomere : any cell that results from division of a fertilized egg
- meroblastic : undergoing only partial cleavage
- holoblastic : cleaving, and separating into separate blastomeres
- inner cell mass : a mass of cells within a primordial embryo that will eventually develop into the distinct form of a fetus in most eutherian mammals
- gastrulation : the stage of embryo development at which a gastrula is formed from the blastula by the inward migration of cells
- trophoblast : the membrane of cells that forms the wall of a blastocyst during early pregnancy, providing nutrients to the embryo and later developing into part of the placenta