Summary

In all animals so far tested, removing either pole of the undivided egg prevents normal development: embryos may arrest early, lack organs, or the adults may be sterile. These experiments have shown that spatial patterning of the egg is of utmost importance for subsequent development. However, the significance of spatial patterning in mammalian eggs is still controversial. To test the importance of egg polarity in the mouse a substantial amount of material either from the animal (polar body-associated) or the vegetal (opposite) pole of the fertilised egg was removed. One pole of the egg was cut away manually with a glass needle and the eggs were allowed to develop in vitro. Both kinds of surgical operation permit the development of blastocysts, which, after transfer to the uteri of pseudo-pregnant foster mothers, can produce viable offspring. Furthermore, these develop into fertile adult mice. I conclude that mouse eggs have no essential components that are localised uniquely to the animal or the vegetal pole and, therefore, do not rely for their axial development on maternal determinants that are so localised in the fertilised egg. Thus the mammalian egg appears to be very unusual in the animal kingdom in that it establishes the embryonic axes after the zygote has begun development.