The cytoplasm of the egg, and particularly its cortex, starts the chain of reactions which eventually leads to the differentiation of parts of the embryo, it should not be assumed that the structure of the future embryo is rigidly determined by local differences in the cytoplasm of the egg. The local peculiarities of the egg cytoplasm are only some of [...]
In this article we will discuss about the manifestation of maternal genes during the early stages of development. Evidence has been presented that (1) the differences between the various parts of the embryo are not due to differences in their nuclei but to differences in the cytoplasm. From this it may be inferred that (2) the nuclei of the cleavage [...]
Distribution of visible materials in the egg and in the embryo during cleavage is, however, not always of crucial importance for the localization of parts in the developing embryo. Some substances and cellular inclusions may be displaced without disturbing the normal segregation of the embryo into its subordinate parts. This displacement can most conveniently be accomplished by centrifugation of the [...]