Development Module Overview Flashcards
What is developmental biology?
The study of how a fertilised egg becomes an adult organism, how we reproduce
What is the purpose of developmental biology?
Lets us understand birth defects
Leads to better treatment of disease
What are model organisms?
Species that are used for study
What is a Parhyale hawaiensis and why is it a good model organism?
Has short generation time
Has high regenerative capacity
Is transparent which is good for imaging
Undergoes transgenesis
Why are model organisms useful in developmental biology?
We can identify conserved mechanisms for development
We can understand how diversity was achieved in the history of life
We can understand the cause of congenital disease
We can investigate repair and regeneration to help treatment
What is descriptive embryology?
Developmental stages based on visual stages of development
In and out of embryo
What is experimental embryology?
Experiments that aim to define how embryonic development occurs
What is morphogenesis?
The process where form is generated
What is gastrulation?
A morphogenesis process where the endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm layers reach their final positions in the embryoW
What is neurulation?
A morphogenetic process where the nervous system begins to form
What is a blastomere?
A cell in the early embryo
What is a fate map?
The assessment of the fate of a cell based on its lineage, ie whats going to happen to the cell
What is a specification map?
The assessment of what a cell will form if they’re taken out of the embryonic environment
What is the meaning of determined in developmental biology?
When a cell or tissue is determined, it will develop according to its fate even when its in another site in the embryo
What is the difference between a fate map and a specification map?
If the fate map matches the specification map then the cells don’t rely on cell-cell communication to achieve their normal fate
If it doesn’t match, the cells receive signals at a later point in development before assuming their normal fate
What is the meaning of competence in developmental biology?
The range of cell fates that can be achieved by a cell
The possibilities a cell is able to become
What is induction in developmental biology?
The process where cells give off signals to neighbouring cells which changes their fate
What is the organizer experiment?
There was the induction of muscle and neural tissue
They found the dorsal mesoderm is determined by the early gastrula stage
The ventral ectoderm and mesoderm are competent to become neural and somitic tissue
What is homeotic mutation?
A mutation that results in the transformation of one body structure into another
What is a hox gene?
A family of genes that encode related transcription factors, characterised by having a DNA binding domain called the homeobox
They are evolutionarily conserved
They are found clustered in the genome