Activity 1: Frog’s egg, Cleavage, and Blastulation

Data/Result:
1. Gastrula

(photo on the left taken by Decipulo, 2017) (photo on the right url:
https://sites.newpaltz.edu/histology/wp-content/uploads/sites/48/2015/03/frog-
late-yolk-plug-4x-ss.jpg)

2. Late Gastrula

(photo taken by Decipulo, 2017) (photo on the right url:

https://sites.newpaltz.edu/histology/developmental-biology/frog/frog-gastrula-ss-
2x/)
3. Neural Plate

(photo taken by Decipulo, 2017) (photo on the right url:

https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/images/thumb/7/70/Rugh_092.j
pg/300px-Rugh_092.jpg)

4. Neural Fold

(photo taken by Decipulo, 2017) (photo on the right url:

https://sites.newpaltz.edu/histology/developmental-biology/frog/neural-fold-iii-4x-
cs/)
 5. Neural Tube CS

(photo taken by Decipulo, 2017) (photo on the right url:

https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/images/thumb/f/f3/Rugh_131.jp
g/300px-Rugh_131.jpg)

6. Neural Tube XS

(photo taken by Decipulo, 2017) (photo on the right url:

https://sites.newpaltz.edu/histology/developmental-biology/frog/early-neural-
groove-4x/)

Answers to Questions:
a. What characterizes gastrulation?
 Gastrulation takes place after cleavage and the formation of the
blastula. Formation of the primitive streak is the beginning of gastrulation.
It is followed by organogenesis—when individual organs develop within
the newly-formed germ layers. The ectoderm layer will give rise to neural
tissue, as well as the epidermis. The mesoderm develops into somites that
differentiate into skeletal and muscle tissues, the notochord, blood
vessels, dermis, and connective tissues. The endoderm gives rise to the
epithelium of the digestive and respiratory systems and the organs
associated with the digestive system, such as the liver and pancreas.
(Boundless, Gastrulation - Boundless Open Textbook, October 31,
2016)

b. Identify and describe the major types of morphogenetic movements occurring

during gastrulation.
Invagination
During invagination, an epithelial sheet bends inward to form an
inpocketing. One way to think of this in three dimensions is to imagine that
you are poking a partially deflated beach ball inward with your finger. The
resulting bulge or tube is an invagination. If the apical side of the
epithelium forms the lumen (central empty space) of the tube, then the
movement is termed invagination. If the lumen is formed by basal
surfaces, then the movement is termed an evagination.

Ingression
During ingression, cells leave an epithellial sheet by transforming
from well-behaved epithellial cells into freely migrating mesenchyme cells.
To do so, they must presumably alter their cellular architecture, alter their
program of motility, and alter their adhesive relationship(s) to the
surrounding cells. Primary mesenchyme cells are an example of a
mesenchymal cell type that emigrates out of an epithelium (do you know
which one?).

Involution
During involution, a tissue sheet rolls inward to form an underlying
layer via bulk movement of tissue. One helpful image here is of a tank
tread or conveyor belt. As material moves in from the edges of the sheet,
material originally at the sites of inward rolling (shown in blue here) is free
to move further up underneath the exterior tissue.

Epiboly
 During epiboly, a sheet of cells spreads by thinning. i.e., the sheet
thins, while its overall surface area increases in the other two directions.
Epiboly can involve a monolayer (i.e. a sheet of cells one cell layer thick),
in which case the individual cells must undergo a change in shape. In
other cases, however, a sheet that has several cell layer can thin by
changes in position of its cells. In this case, epiboly occurs via
intercalation, one of the other movements described on this page.

Intercalation
During intercalation, two or more rows of cells move between one
another, creating an array of cells that is longer (in one or more
dimensions) but thinner. The overall change in shape of the tissue results
from cell rearrangement. Intercalation can be a powerful means of
expanding a tissue sheet. A specialized form of intercalation is convergent
extension, which is described on this page.

Convergent Extension
During convergent extension, two or more rows of cells intercalate,
but the intercalation is highly directional. Cells converge by intercalating
perpendicular to the axis of extension, resulting in the overall extension of
the tissue in a preferred direction. If we had a way to label cells from rows
on either side of the axis of extension, they would be found to mix with one
another as a result of these oriented intercalation events.

(Morphogenetic movements, Echinoderms – Gastrulation)

c. What is the chordamesoderm? What is its fate in the adult frog?

Some of the last cells to roll over the dorsal lip into the blastopore
are presumptive notochord and presumptive mesoderm. Initially, these
cells makeup the dorsal lining of the archenteron near the blastopore.
Later, they detach from the endoderm and move to a position between the
endoderm and ectoderm in the region of the dorsal lip of the blastopore.
This mesoderm, called chordamesoderm, differentiates into notochord.
Later to the notochord, mesoderm spreads and thickens along the
sides of the embryo. These thickenings, called somites are visible
externally as a row of bumps on either side of the embryo. As mesoderm
continues to spread ventrally, it splits to form the body cavity (coelom) and
the mesodermal lining of the body wall and gut.
 (Its all about Zoology , Botany and Biology, Answer of Question of Descriptive
Embryology, url below)

d. What are the important changes happening during neurulation?

Neurulation begins with the formation of a neural plate, a thickening of the

ectoderm caused when cuboidal epithelial cells become columnar. Changes in
cell shape and cell adhesion cause the edges of the plate fold and rise, meeting
in the midline to form a tube. The cells at the tips of the neural folds come to lie
between the neural tube and the overlying epidermis. These cells become the
neural crest cells. Both epidermis and neural plate are capable of giving rise to
neural crest cells. (Chapter 14. Gastrulation and Neurulation, see url below)

e. Discuss how the neural plate is formed via induction.

During the stage of neural plate formation the embryo consists of three
cell layers: the ectoderm that eventually forms the skin and neural tissues, the
mesoderm that forms muscle and bone, and the endoderm that will form the cells
lining the digestive and respiratory tracts. The progenitor cells that make up the
precursors to neural tissues in the neural plate are called neuroepithelial cells.
Stretched over the notochord, the ectodermal cells on the dorsal portion of the
embryo are ultimately the ones that form the neural plate.

f. Discuss how the neural tube is formed, as well as its fate in the adult amphibian

Neurulation in vertebrates results in the formation of the neural tube,

which gives rise to both the spinal cord and the brain. Neural crest cells are also
created during neurulation. Neural crest cells migrate away from the neural tube
and give rise to a variety of cell types, including pigment cells and neurons.

Neurulation begins with the formation of a neural plate, a thickening of the

ectoderm caused when cuboidal epithelial cells become columnar. Changes in
cell shape and cell adhesion cause the edges of the plate fold and rise, meeting
in the midline to form a tube. The cells at the tips of the neural folds come to lie
between the neural tube and the overlying epidermis. These cells become the
neural crest cells. Both epidermis and neural plate are capable of giving rise to
neural crest cells.
(Chapter 14. Gastrulation and Neurulation)

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrulation
http://worms.zoology.wisc.edu/dd2/echino/gast/morph/morph.html
http://biology.kenyon.edu/courses/biol114/Chap14/Chapter_14.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neural_plate#Development_of_the_neural_plate
http://worms.zoology.wisc.edu/dd2/echino/gast/morph/morph.html
http://biologyboom.com/answer-of-question-of-descriptive-embryology/
http://biology.kenyon.edu/courses/biol114/Chap14/Chapter_14.html
https://www.boundless.com/physiology/textbooks/boundless-anatomy-and-physiology-
textbook/human-development-and-pregnancy-28/third-week-of-development-
263/gastrulation-1295-5293/
https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/images/thumb/7/70/Rugh_092.jpg/30
0px-Rugh_092.jpg
https://sites.newpaltz.edu/histology/developmental-biology/frog/