[Campbell Biology P.1095] Why is the process of cleavage essential during early embryonic dev... | Practice Question

Why is the process of cleavage essential during early embryonic development, according to the provided text?

  • A: To increase the total amount of DNA in the embryo.
  • B: To rapidly increase cell number without significant growth, restoring the balance between cell size and DNA content.
  • C: To synthesize new mRNA and proteins for subsequent developmental stages.
  • D: To allow for the fusion of sperm and egg nuclei.

Explanation

The text states, "The single nucleus in a newly fertilized egg has too little DNA to produce the amount of mRNA required to meet the cell's need for new proteins. ... The process that addresses this challenge is cleavage, a series of rapid cell divisions during early development." This implies cleavage's role is to increase cell number and DNA content relative to cell size, addressing the "too little DNA" problem.