34.5 Fertilization and Early Embryonic Development

Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

In this section, you will explore the following questions:

  • How does fertilization occur?
  • How does the embryo form from the zygote?
  • What are the roles of cleavage and fertilization in animal development?

Connection for AP® Courses

Connection for AP® Courses

The information in this section is not within the scope for AP® other than to note that the process by which an organism develops from a single-celled zygote to a multi-cellular organism with specialized cells, tissues, and organs is complex and well regulated. The organization into a multi-cellular organism is regulated by an organism’s genes. Cell differentiation is a result of specific gene expression, and homeotic (HOX) genes and morphogens control the pattern and timing of developmental stages.

Information presented and examples highlighted in this section are not within the scope for AP® and do not align to the Curriculum Framework.

Fertilization

Fertilization

Fertilization, pictured in Figure 34.20a is the process in which gametes (an egg and sperm) fuse to form a zygote. The egg and sperm each contain one set of chromosomes. To ensure that the offspring has only one complete diploid set of chromosomes, only one sperm must fuse with one egg. In mammals, the egg is protected by a layer of extracellular matrix consisting mainly of glycoproteins called the zona pellucida. When a sperm binds to the zona pellucida, a series of biochemical events, called the acrosomal reactions, take place. In placental mammals, the acrosome contains digestive enzymes that initiate the degradation of the glycoprotein matrix protecting the egg and allowing the sperm plasma membrane to fuse with the egg plasma membrane, as illustrated in Figure 34.20b. The fusion of these two membranes creates an opening through which the sperm nucleus is transferred into the ovum. The nuclear membranes of the egg and sperm break down and the two haploid genomes condense to form a diploid genome.

Part A is a micrograph that shows a sperm whose head is touching the surface of an egg. The egg is much larger than the sperm. Part B is an illustration that shows the surface of the egg, which is coated with a zona pellucida. The sperm penetrates the zona pellucida and releases its DNA into the egg. At this point, changes in proteins just inside the egg’s cell membrane occur, preventing entry of other sperm.
Figure 34.20 (a) Fertilization is the process in which sperm and egg fuse to form a zygote. (b) Acrosomal reactions help the sperm degrade the glycoprotein matrix protecting the egg and allow the sperm to transfer its nucleus. (credit: (b) modification of work by Mariana Ruiz Villareal; scale-bar data from Matt Russell)

To ensure that no more than one sperm fertilizes the egg, once the acrosomal reactions take place at one location of the egg membrane, the egg releases proteins in other locations to prevent other sperm from fusing with the egg. If this mechanism fails, multiple sperm can fuse with the egg, resulting in polyspermy. The resulting embryo is not genetically viable and dies within a few days.

Cleavage and Blastula Stage

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. Cleavage is illustrated in (Figure 34.21a). 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, shown in Figure 34.21b. 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.

Part A illustration shows a fertilized egg divided into two, four, eight, sixteen and thirty-two cells. Part B shows a hollow ball of cells. The cells on the surface are called the blastoderm, and the hollow center is called the blastocoel.
Figure 34.21 (a) During cleavage, the zygote rapidly divides into multiple cells without increasing in size. (b) The cells rearrange themselves to form a hollow ball with a fluid-filled or yolk-filled cavity called the blastula. (credit a: modification of work by Gray’s Anatomy; credit b: modification of work by Pearson Scott Foresman, donated to the Wikimedia Foundation)

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 and this mass of cells will go on to form the embryo. At this stage of development, illustrated in Figure 34.22 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.

Illustration shows a hollow ball of cells with an inner cell mass clustered to one side. The exterior is called the trophoblast.
Figure 34.22 The rearrangement of the cells in the mammalian blastula to two layers—the inner cell mass and the trophoblast—results in the formation of the blastocyst.

Link to Learning

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Visit the Virtual Human Embryo project at the Endowment for Human Development site to step through an interactive that shows the stages of embryo development, including micrographs and rotating 3-D images.

Which early embryonic stage is characterized by a fluid-filled cavity with an inner cell mass surrounded by a layer of cells?
  1. blastocyst
  2. blastula
  3. blastocoel
  4. gastrula

Gastrulation

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. This process is called gastrulation. During gastrulation, the blastula folds upon itself to form the three layers of cells. Each of these layers is called a germ layer and each germ layer differentiates into different organ systems.

The three germs layers, shown in Figure 34.23, 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. The endoderm gives rise to columnar cells found in the digestive system and many internal organs.

Illustration shows cells associated with the internal endoderm, the middle mesoderm, and the external ectoderm. Lung, thyroid and digestive tissues are associated with the endoderm. Muscle, kidney and blood cells are associated with the mesoderm. Skin, neurons, and pigment cells are associated with the ectoderm.
Figure 34.23 The three germ layers give rise to different cell types in the animal body. (credit: modification of work by NIH, NCBI)

Everyday Connection

Are Designer Babies in Our Future?

Illustration shows a tree with words such as genetics, statistics, medicine, economics, and genealogy associated with the roots. The word eugenics is emblazoned across the upper trunk. To the side of the tree is the text 'Eugenics is the self-direction of human evolution.'
Figure 34.24 This logo from the Second International Eugenics Conference in New York City in September of 1921 shows how eugenics attempted to merge several fields of study with the goal of producing a genetically superior human race.

If you could prevent your child from getting a devastating genetic disease, would you do it? Would you select the sex of your child or select for their attractiveness, strength, or intelligence? How far would you go to maximize the possibility of resistance to disease? The genetic engineering of a human child, the production of designer babies with desirable phenotypic characteristics, was once a topic restricted to science fiction. This is the case no longer: science fiction is now overlapping into science fact. Many phenotypic choices for offspring are already available, with many more likely to be possible in the not too distant future. Which traits should be selected and how they should be selected are topics of much debate within the worldwide medical community. The ethical and moral line is not always clear or agreed upon, and some fear that modern reproductive technologies could lead to a new form of eugenics.

Eugenics is the use of information and technology from a variety of sources to improve the genetic makeup of the human race. The goal of creating genetically superior humans was quite prevalent (although controversial) in several countries during the early 20th century, but fell into disrepute when Nazi Germany developed an extensive eugenics program in the 1930s and 40s. As part of their program, the Nazis forcibly sterilized hundreds of thousands of the so-called unfit and killed tens of thousands of institutionally disabled people as part of a systematic program to develop what they believed to be a genetically superior race of Germans known as Aryans. Ever since, eugenic ideas have not been as publicly expressed, but there are still those who promote them.

Efforts have been made in the past to control traits in human children using donated sperm from men with desired traits. In fact, eugenicist Robert Klark Graham established a sperm bank in 1980 that included samples exclusively from donors with high IQs. The genius sperm bank failed to capture the public's imagination and the operation closed in 1999.

In more recent times, the procedure known as prenatal genetic diagnosis (PGD) has been developed. PGD involves the screening of human embryos as part of the process of in vitro fertilization, during which embryos are conceived and grown outside the mother's body for some period of time before they are implanted. The term PGD usually refers to both the diagnosis, selection, and implantation of the selected embryos.

In the least controversial use of PGD, embryos are tested for the presence of alleles which cause genetic diseases such as sickle cell disease, muscular dystrophy, and hemophilia, in which a single disease-causing allele or pair of alleles has been identified. By excluding embryos containing these alleles from implantation into the mother, the disease is prevented, and the unused embryos are either donated to science or discarded. There are relatively few in the worldwide medical community that question the ethics of this type of procedure, which allows individuals scared to have children because of the alleles they carry to do so successfully. The major limitation to this procedure is its expense. Not usually covered by medical insurance and thus out of reach financially for most couples, only a very small percentage of all live births use such complicated methodologies. Yet, even in cases like these where the ethical issues may seem clear-cut, not everyone agrees with the morality of these types of procedures. For example, to those who take the position that human life begins at conception, the discarding of unused embryos, a necessary result of PGD, is unacceptable under any circumstances.

A murkier ethical situation is found in the selection of a child's sex, which is easily performed by PGD. Currently, countries such as Great Britain have banned the selection of a child's sex for reasons other than preventing sex-linked diseases. Other countries allow the procedure for family balancing, based on the desire of some parents to have at least one child of each sex. Still others, including the United States, have taken a scattershot approach to regulating these practices, essentially leaving it to the individual practicing physician to decide which practices are acceptable and which are not.

Even murkier are rare instances of disabled parents, such as those with deafness or dwarfism, who select embryos via PGD to ensure that they share their disability. These parents usually cite many positive aspects of their disabilities and associated culture as reasons for their choice, which they see as their moral right. To others, to purposely cause a disability in a child violates the basic medical principle of Primum non nocere, or, first, do no harm. This procedure, although not illegal in most countries, demonstrates the complexity of ethical issues associated with choosing genetic traits in offspring.

Where could this process lead? Will this technology become more affordable and how should it be used? With the ability of technology to progress rapidly and unpredictably, a lack of definitive guidelines for the use of reproductive technologies before they arise might make it difficult for legislators to keep pace once they are in fact realized, assuming the process needs any government regulation at all. Other bioethicists argue that we should only deal with technologies that exist now, and not in some uncertain future. They argue that these types of procedures will always be expensive and rare, so the fears of eugenics and “master” races are unfounded and overstated. The debate continues.

Prenatal genetic diagnosis (PGD) is often sought by parents before an embryo is implanted in the mother. Which of the following cannot be diagnosed by PGD?

  1. inheritance of sickle cell anemia
  2. Down’s syndrome
  3. determination of sex
  4. inheritance of sexually transmitted diseases

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