Introduction Flashcards
Human embryonic development takes ___ weeks
8
Gradient-dependent cell fate

Variations on inductive signaling

Major families of developmental growth factors

The only major small molecule developmental signal
Retinoic acid
All the rest are proteins.
Why have so many families of developmental growth factors?

Cell lineage is ___-dependent
Cell lineage is history-dependent
In other words, responsiveness to any given growth factor is NOT a state function.

Cross-repression

Responses to motility and orientation-inducing factors

Germ lineage tree

Epithelial vs Mesenchymal Cells

EMT

EMT in gastrulation
Ectodermal cells undergo EMT to form mesendodermal cells.
Mesendodermal cells may decide to remain mesenchymal, and thus form the mesoderm, or to undergo a MET, and form the endoderm.

Levels of stem cell potency

Cell reprogramming
Averts the need to make iPS cells.

Ovum

Sperm

Sperm capacitation
Occurs when sperm enters the female reproductive tract
Process of removal of glycoproteins from the sperm membrane surrounding the acrosome such that the acrosomal surface is more available to interact with the ovum membrane.
What is the function of the cortical reaction?
To prevent polyspermy
Upon fertilization, the ovum undergoes. . .
Meiosis II
The polar body also undergoes meiosis II. At this point, both polar body copies of the genome and one maternal ovum copy of the genome will be lost, leaving a haploid maternal genome and a haploid paternal genome.
How many pronuclei does a fertilized ovum have?
Two: One maternal, one paternal.
However, this state does not last long, as the fertilized ovum will quikly undergo mitosis to form a 2-cell blastomere.
Development Progression
Zygote
Blastomere
Morula
Blastulation

-blast
rapidly dividing cell






