Map of the Anlage fields in the avian unincubated blastoderm

By excision at different sites of rectangular fragments from unincubated chicken blastoderms and replacement by isotopic fragments from unincubated quail blastoderms, we could make the first complete map of the Anlage fields in the freshly laid avian blastoderm. All the Anlage fields (Fig. 11) are found in the upper layer (UL) of the caudal half of the area centralis (bordered by the Rauber-Koller's sickle). In the UL of the area marginalis, peripheral to Rauber-Koller's sickle, neither gastrulation nor neurulation phenomena could be observed. Similar heterotopic replacement experiments indicate that before incubation, the different parts of the UL of the area centralis are still uncommitted or reversibly committed. The Anlage fields of chordamesoblast and definitive endoderm (gut endoderm) in unincubated avian blastoderms appeared to be disposed caudally in the caudal half of the area centralis. As far as we know we are the first to demonstrate that the Anlage field of the definitive gut endoderm (which is derived from the upper layer: Hunt, 1937; Vakaet, 1962b) is localized in the most caudal upper layer part of the area centralis just centrally to the Rauber-Koller's sickle. The Anlage field of the neural plate is localized in the upper layer over the more cranial endophyll. The Anlage of the brain is shield-shaped, whilst the other Anlage fields are sickle-shaped, parallel with the Rauber-Koller's sickle. Their general hemicircular disposition and form still seem to reflect (together with the Rauber-Koller's sickle) the original ooplasmic radial symmetry (Callebaut, 1972) combined with the eccentricity of the deep layer components, which was observed during early symmetrization by gravitational orientation of the egg yolk (Callebaut, 1993a,b). The Rauber-Koller's sickle might be homologous with the vegetal dorsalizing cells or centre of Nieuwkoop (1973) in amphibian blastulas.