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Fig. 4 | BMC Evolutionary Biology

Fig. 4

From: A comparative view of early development in the corals Favia lizardensis, Ctenactis echinata, and Acropora millepora - morphology, transcriptome, and developmental gene expression

Fig. 4

C.echinata embryonic development. (a) Egg. (b-e) Successive cell divisions result in an eight-celled embryo. Nuclei are apparent as darker areas within the cells (arrowheads in b,d, g). (f-h) Further cell divisions lead to production of a spheroidal embryo. (i) Section of an embryo of similar age to that in (h) showing an obvious blastocoel (bl, in this and succeeding panels). (j-k) Sections showing the embryo forming a hollow sphere. (l) The sphere then elongates in the oral-aboral axis, as gastrulation begins with cells moving inward into the blastocoel (asterisk marks the blastopore in this and succeeding panels). (m-n) Lateral and oral views of a single whole mount embryo. The remaining blastocoel is apparent as a darker area in (m), while the blastopore (asterisk) is shown in (n) . (o) The late gastrula stage, which has now become ciliated and capable of swimming. (p) Early planula stage-the whiter central area (outlined with black dots) marks the extent of the yolk-filled endoderm. Scale bar = 100um

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