Atlas of Drosophila Development by Volker Hartenstein | Table of Contents |
Reproductive Organs pages 48-49 | 50-51 Select image to enlarge in new window |
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The reproductive organs
comprise the gonads (ovaries, testes), the genital ducts with their accessory
structures, and the external genitalia. The gonads contain the gametes,
descendants of the embryonic pole cells, and support cells (sheath cells
and pigment cells in males, follicle cells in females) that are of
mesodermal origin. The genital ducts and external genitalia are derivatives of
the genital imaginal disc. At the blastoderm stage [stage 5], the pole cells (pc) form a cluster of 34-37 cells at the posterior pole of the embryo
(Sonnenblick 1950; Campos-Ortega and Hartenstein 1985; see Foe et al.;
Spradling; both this volume), which is formed by the anlage of the posterior
midgut rudiment (pmg). |
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