Аннотация:Response of embryo rudiments os amphibians (Rana temporaria) and fish (Misgurnus fossilis) to laser irradiation was examined as depending on embryo age and differentiation phase of cell populations. Individual embryo rudiments were irradiated locally during c leavage, gastrulation and neurulation, and the photosensitivity levels of the rudiments were compared. Those cells populations that entered morphogenesis and those that experienced determination (gene expression, governing the localization of an axial rudiment) revealed the highest photosensitivity. Mechanisms of the revealed photobiological reactions of the embryos are discussed. The higher susceptibility to photodamage, revealed by the determination phenomena, was found to correlate with the more extensive free-radical reactions and, to quite a degree, to be concerned with the metabolism of membrane lipids.