Program Base Learning (PBL)

Stage 1: Group setting.

Group members:
1) Muhammad Shakir bin Che Soh
2) Nur ‘Ain bt Ibrahim
3) Raja Nur Aimi bt Raja Ibrahim
4) Siti Aishah bt Abd Latiff
5) Syadida bt Zakaria

Rules:
1) Everyone have to contributes ideas.
2) Be punctual.
3) Every task have three meetings.
4) Give cooperation.
5) Enjoy doing the work.

Roles of tutor:
1) Guide the group members in solving the problems.
2) Discuss with the group members about the problems.
3) Follow up the groups’ progress.

Roles of the students:

1. Each members have their own responsibilities

2. Each members have to complete their task
3. Each members must contribute some ideas to complete the tasks
4. Each members should find the sources of information to give the best answers.
5. All members should prepare their report according to their task

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Stage 2: Problem identification

Pn Laila is senior laboratory assistant at biological science Institute, University of

Malaya. One day, she received a set of model claimed to be animal’s embryonic
development. The model obtained from Carolina Biological, one of scientific equipments
supplier. She was interested to know how the cleavage process occurs does. For the next
day, she asks a lecture who is expert about embryonic development. The lecturer said the
cleavage pattern and the type of cleavage of different animal’s groups are correlated with
the amount and distribution of yolk in their eggs and polarity of eggs. During explanation
the lecture gave also an example the cleavage process in amphibian.

After having some discussion we have identified the problems that have been
given in the task.

- We have to confirm the model as a series of cleavage.

- We have to identify and describe a series of cleavage
- We have to explain about the cleavage pattern
- We have to explain the types of cleavage
- We have to describe the process of the cleavage of the amphibian.

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Stage 3: Idea generation

After discussing, we have generated some ideas that can be guideline from the
question.These ideas can help the students to more understand about the process in
human development and how the formation of twins. The ideas from the question are:

1. Cleavage is the division of zygote to form the muticellular embryo

2. The cleavage pattern of different animals groups are correlated with the
amount and distribution of yolk and polarity of egg.
3. The amount of yolk will affect the size of blastomere.
4. There are four term of yolk distribution which are isolecithal,
mesolecithal, telolecithal, and centrolecithal.
5. The polarity of egg consists of animal pole and vegetal pole.
6. There are two type of cleavage which are holoblastic and meroblastic.
7. Holoblastic cleavage patterns indicates that entire egg is cleaved during
cytokinesis.
8. Holoblastic cleavage pattern include radial, bilateral, rotational and spiral
cleavage.
9. Meroblastic cleavage is include the egg that partially cytokinesis
10. Two major types of meroblastic cleavage are discoidal cleavage and
superficial cleavage.
11. The different animals have the different types of cleavage patterns.

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Stage 4: Learning issues

We have determined the conflict that we should let the student know. The issues
are:
• What is cleavage or blastulation?
• How the cleavage process occur?
• What is blastomeres?
• What are the types of cleavage?
• What are the cleavage patterns?
• What are factors that correlated with cleavage patterns?
• What is yolk distribution ?
• How many types of yolk distribution?
• What are the differences between the term of yolk distribution?
• How does the amounts of yolk affect the size of blastomere?
• What is polarity of egg?
• What is the differences between animal pole and vegetal pole?
• What is the holoblastic cleavage pattern and their types?
• What is the meroblastic cleavage pattern and their types?
• What are the differences between holoblastic and meroblastic?
• What is the cleavage pattern of the sea urchin’s, molluscs, amphibians, chick, fish
and mammals?
• Why the cell divisions more rapidly in the animal pole in amphibians?

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Stage 5: Self-Directed Learning

FACTS IDEAS LEARNING ISSUES ACTIONS

• Pn Laila is ● She claimed that the • How she can claimed • refer to
senior model is the series of that the model is the internet
laboratory cleavage. series of cleavage? • book
assistant at • lecture note
biological • discussion
science
Institute,
University
of Malaya
• received a
set of model
claimed to
be animal’s
embryonic
development
• Stages of • Cleavage is the • What is cleavage or
cleavages division of zygote blastulation?
• How the cleavage
process occur
• What is blastomeres?
• What are the types of
cleavage?

• cleavage • The cleavage • What are the cleavage

patterns pattern of different patterns?
animals groups are • What are factors that
correlated with the correlated with

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 amount and cleavage patterns?
distribution of yolk • How the amount of
and polarity of egg. yolk affect the
• There are four term cleavage pattern?
of yolk distribution • What is yolk
which are distribution ?
isolecithal, • How many types of
mesolecithal, yolk distribution?
telolecithal, and • What are the
centrolecithal. differences between
• The polarity of egg the term of yolk
consists of animal distribution?
pole and vegetal • How does the amounts
pole. of yolk affect the size
of blastomere?
• What is polarity of egg
• What is the
differences between
animal pole and
vegetal pole?
• Types of • There are two type • What is the holoblastic
cleavage of cleavage which cleavage pattern and
patterns are holoblastic and their types?
meroblastic. • What is the
• Holoblastic meroblastic cleavage
cleavage patterns pattern and their
indicates that entire types?
egg is cleaved • What are the
during cytokinesis. differences between
• Holoblastic holoblastic and
cleavage pattern meroblastic

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 include radial,
bilateral, rotational
and spiral cleavage.
• Meroblastic
cleavage include
the egg that
partially
cytokinesis.
• Two major types of
meroblastic
cleavage are
discoidal cleavage
and superficial
cleavage..
• Cleavage • The different • What is the cleavage
patterns in animals have the pattern of the sea
amphibians different types of urchin’s, molluscs,
and others cleavage patterns. amphibians, chick,
animals. fish and mammals?
• How the cleavage
occur in amphibians?
• Why the cell divisions
more rapidly in the
animal pole in
amphibians?

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STAGE 6: Synthesis and Application

CLEAVAGE

Cleavage process also known as blastulation is the process after fertilization when
early mitotic cell divisions occur that progressively reduce cell size which known as
blastomere. During cleavage, the total embryonic mass remains constant. In mammals,
zygote divides into 2, 4, 8 and more smaller. When the embryo has about 16 cells, its
individual cells begin to adhere to one another and it coalesces to form into a morula.

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Morula is the solid ball. At day 7, blastocyst (blastocyst cavity) forms in the morula when
it enters into the uterus. Blastocyst consist of the fluid-filled cavity called the blastoceol.
This cavitation is an important transition from homogeneous cells to differentiated cell
function. This new structure is called a blastocyst which consists of an outer layer, the
trophoblast, and an inner cluster of cells referred to as the inner cell mass that will
become the embryo. Implantation is the process in which the blastocyst attaches to and
penetrates into the uterine wall.

The cleavage patterns of different animals group are correlated with the amount
and distribution of yolk in their eggs and the polarity of eggs. This affects the pattern of
cleavage divisions in the embryo. If the little yolk (lancelet), holoblastic cleavage
produces similar sized blastomere while if the lot of yolk in vegetal pole (frog),
holoblastic cleavage produces different sized of blastomeres. The amount of distribution
of yolk in the egg have the major impact on its cleavage pattern. The terms used for the
yolk distribution are isolecithal, mesolecithal, telolecithal and centrolecithal. The first
term of yolk distribution is the isoletichal which is the egg that have the a small amountof
evently distributed yolk in the cytoplasm. For example, type of egg in most echinoderms,
molluscs, ascidians and mammals. The second type of the yolk distribution is
mesolicithal which egg with moderate amount of yolk present mostly in the vegetal
hemisphere. The vegetal pole mostly is the yolk while the animal pole mostly is the
cytoplasm. In the vegetal cleavage, the cleavage slower than the animal pole. For
example in the amphibian egg. Next, the egg with a large amount of yolk filling the entire
egg except for a small area near the animal pole are called telolecithal. For example in
most fish, reptiles and bird eggs. The last type of the cleavage pattern is the centrolecithal

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which is egg in which the yolk is concentrated in the central cytoplasm. For example the
egg of all insect and many other arthropods belong to this type.
The cleavage patterns of different animals groups are correlated with the polarity of
eggs. Polarity of egg can be divided into animal pole and vegetal pole. In developmental
biology, the term animal pole refers to the upper hemisphere of a blastula embryo (as it is
conventionally drawn, in reality the animal pole may not be the upper hemisphere). The
animal pole consists of small cells that divide rapidly. The animal pole draws its name
from its liveliness relative to the slowly-developing vegetal pole. In some cases, the
animal pole is thought to differentiate into the later embryo itself, forming the three
primary germ layers and participating in gastrulation. On the other hand, the term vegetal
pole refers to the lower hemisphere of a blastula embryo (as it is conventionally drawn, in
reality the vegetal pole may not be the lower hemisphere). The vegetal pole contains
large yolky cells that divide very slowly. The vegetal pole draws its name from its
inactivity relative to the lively animal pole. In some cases, the vegetal pole is thought to
differentiate into the extraembryonic membranes that protect and nourish the developing
embryo, such as the placenta in mammals and the chorion in birds.

Animal pole

Vegetal pole

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Types of cleavage

There is much variation in how different deuterostomes carry out their earliest cell
divisions. Types of cleavage depending on the amount of yolk distribution
and correlated with polarity off egg. The divison can be reduced to two
different categories which is holoblastic and meroblastic cleavage.

Holoblastic

In the absence of a large concentration of yolk, four major cleavage types can be
observed in isolecithal cells and mesolechital. Isolecithal cells are cells with a small even
distribution of yolk and mesolechital cells are moderate amount of yolk in a gradient
which are can be found in bilateral holoblastic, radial holoblastic, rotational holoblastic,
and spiral holoblastic, cleavage.

• Bilateral

The first cleavage results in bisection of the zygote into left and right halves. The
following cleavage planes are centered on this axis and result in the two halves
being mirror images of one another. In bilateral holoblastic cleavage, the divisions
of the blastomeres are complete and separate; compared with bilateral meroblastic
cleavage, in which the blastomeres stay partially connected.

• Rotational

Mammals display rotational cleavage, and an isolecithal distribution of yolk .

Because the cells have only a small amount of yolk, they require immediate
implantation onto the uterine wall in order to receive nutrients. In the first division

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 the cells divide in half with the plane from top to bottom. However, in the second
cleavage, one of the two blastomeres divides the same as the first cleavage and
the other divides at the equator. It also unique to mammalian cleavage is that the
cells do not always divide at the same time producing the 2, 4, or 8 cell stages but
sometimes divide at different times so that odd numbers of cells may be present
such as a 5-cell embryo.

• Radial

Radial cleavage is characteristic of the deuterostomes, which include some

vertebrates and echinoderms, A developing embryo has radial cleavage if as it
undergoes cell division (cleavage) and changes from a four-cell embryo to an
eight-cell embryo, the cells divide such that each cell in the top four cell plane is
directly over one other cell in the bottom plane.

• Spiral

In spiral cleavage, the cleavage planes are oriented obliquely to the polar axis of
the oocyte. A developing embryo has spiral cleavage if as it undergoes cell
division (cleavage) and changes from a four-cell embryo to an eight-cell embryo,
the cells divide at slight angles to one another, so that the none of the four cells in
one plane of the eight-cell stage is directly over a cell in the other plane.
At the third cleavage the halves are oblique to the polar axis and typically produce
an upper quartet of smaller cells that come to be set between the furrows of the
lower quartet. All groups showing spiral cleavage are protostomia, such as
annelids and mollusks.

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Meroblastic

In the presence of a large amount of yolk in the fertilized egg cell, the cell can undergo
partial, or meroblastic, cleavage. All large eggs have meroblastic cleavage, because large
masses of yolk intefere with cytokinesis. Two major types of meroblastic cleavage are
discoidal and superficial.

• Discoidal

In discoidal cleavage, the cleavage furrows do not penetrate the yolk. The embryo
forms a disc of cells, called a blastodisc, on top of the yolk. Discoidal cleavage is
commonly found in birds, reptiles, and fish which have telolecithal egg cells (egg
cells with the yolk concentrated at one end).

• Superficial

In superficial cleavage, mitosis occurs but not cytokinesis, resulting in a

polynuclear cell. With the yolk positioned in the center of the egg cell, the nuclei
migrate to the periphery of the egg, and the plasma membrane grows inward,
partitioning the nuclei into individual cells. Superficial cleavage occurs in
arthropods which have centrolecithal egg cells (egg cells with the yolk located in
the center of the cell).

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CLEAVAGE PATTERN OF REPRESENTATIVE ANIMALS

AMPHIBIANS

Amphibians typically exhibit mesolecithal eggs, having an intermediate

amount of yolk. The amphibian egg is larger than that of the starfish due to the
larger quantity of yolk. It is distinctly divided into a dark pigmented hemisphere
(the animal hemisphere) and a lightly or unpigmented hemisphere (the vegetal
hemisphere). The pigment granules reside in the cortical cytoplasm of the egg
within the plasma membrane and are more abundant in the animal hemisphere.
The yolk is distributed throughout the cytoplasm of the egg but is much more
concentrated toward the vegetal pole end of the egg. Hence, the yolk offers
resistance to cleavage in the vegetal hemisphere. The amount of yolk is still
sufficiently small to allow complete cleavage of the egg cell.

8 Cell Frog Embryo

• The first cleavage was vertical through the animal and vegetal poles.
• The second cleavage was also vertical, but at right angles to the first.
• The third cleavage was horizontal but unequal.
• The embryo now consists of four smaller blastomeres (micromeres) at the
animal pole and four larger blastomeres (macromeres) at the vegetal pole

AP = animal pole, VP = vegetal pole.

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 EARLY FROG BLASTULA
(SURFACE VIEW)

AP = animal pole, VP = vegetal pole Early Frog Blastula - Sagittal Section

 MAMMALS
• Holoblstic cleavage except concentrated at one pole (inner cell mass
analogous to blastodisc)

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 • Cells surrounding inner cell mass (trophoblast) become part of the
placenta.
 BIRD
• Egg is telolecithal like fish
• See discoidal meroblastic cleavage
• Cleavage only in the blastodisc - small disc of cytoplasm 2-3 mm in
diameter at the animal pole
• First cleavage furrow appears centrally in the blastodisc
• Other cleavages follow and create a single layered blastoderm
• They do not extend into the yolky cytoplasm Later equatorial and vertical
cleavages divide the blastoderm into a tissue five to six cell layers thick
• Cells linked by tight junctions
• Between the blastoderm and the yolk is space - subgerminal cavity
• This is created when the blastoderm cells absorb fluid from the albumin &
secrete it between themselves and the yolk
 FISH
• Cleavage occurs in the blastodisc, yolk-free cytoplasm at the animal cap
of the egg
• Meroblastic cleavage occurs only in the cytoplasm of the blastodisc -
called discoidal
• Calcium waves started at fertilization stimulate contraction of actin -
squeezes non-yolky cytoplasm into the animal pole of the egg
• Divisions are rapid - about every 15 minute
• Discoidal Cleavage in a Zebrafish
• First 12 divisions occur synchronously - forms mound of cells atop a
single large yolk cell
• These cells are called the blastoderm
• At the 10th division - mid-blastula transition - zygotic gene transcription
begins
• Now cells divisions slow & cell movement becomes evident

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STAGES 7: Reflection and Feedback

This is the second PBL for us. We use the same method to complete this task. To
do this PBL, we search the information, discuss, write the report and present it together.
So from this PBL, we know more details about how to do Problem Based Learning
process according to the right process. We also gain and learn more details about
cleavage process. By doing this activity, we know the definition of cleavage, the steps,
types, pattern, factor that affect the cleavage process and also the cleavage patterns of
representative animals like mammals, mollusks, amphibians, chick or birds, fish or
zebrafish and sea urchins.
In doing this PBL, we faced some problem such as we do not understand clearly
about the problem that we got and about the cleavage process. So, to settle this problem,
we make the discussion with our group members and ask Dr Hayati. From our discussion
and the explanation from Dr Hayati, we more understand and can do this task. Because
this PBL is the second one, so we do not get the same problem like before which is on
how to do PBL like in the first PBL that we did before. Therefore, we can do this PBL
smoothly and we hope that it will be better than before. Besides, we also hope that by
doing this PBL we can more understand about this topic.

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