Lecture 21 Flashcards
Bride of sevenless and sevenless are two genes identified to be involved in the ability to Drosophila to perceive light. What is seen in sev and boss mutant flies
They will move to be in white light over UV light as opposed to the other way around as is seen in wild type
What kind of experimental methods could be used to confirm the role of the transcription factors that specify formation of the eye fields
In situ hybridisation
What is seen in mice with a homozygous mutation in the gene that specifies eye development
Small eyes
Pax6, Rx and Six3 expression is maintained in the forming retina as well as in the early eye field. What is the role of this continued expression later in development
Important role in the balance of stem cells and differentiated cells
Where do the axons of the outer photoreceptors (R1-R6) project to
The lamina
If wnt signalling is used to induce expression of Pax6, Rx and Six3, what would you expect to be the results of an overexpression of frizzled and why
Frizzled is a wnt receptor and so overexpression of fz will lead to increase wnt signalling and a subsequent overexpression of the eye field specifying genes
There are 2 layers to the optic cup consisting of inner neural epithelium and the outer retinal pigment epithelium. To what do these structures give rise to
The inner neural epithelium give rise to the ganglion, bipolar, amacrine and photoreceptor cells as well as the Muller glia. The outer pigmented epithelium give rise to the pigmented cells that give the eyes their colour
What type of protein is boss
Bride of sevenless is a membrane-tethered ligand specific for sev
What is the name of the EGF receptor ligand secreted by R8, 2 and 5 that leads to subsequent recruitment of cells
Spitz
What structure of the eye is derived from the retina
Retina
Which bHLH proneural gene is involved in a horizontal cell fate
Prox1
The expression of which three transcription factors characterise the eye fields
Pax6, Six3 and Rx
How are the R8 photoreceptors specified to form
Notch-delta signalling between the cells within the morphogenetic furrow acts as a lateral inhibition mechanism to space future R8 cells
Explain how the lens or optic placode is induced
As the optic vesicles grows out is touches the adjacent surface ectoderm and induces a thickening of this tissue forming the optic placode
Explain how the optic cup forms from the optic vesicle and lens placode
The lens placode invaginates with the optic vesicle to produce a double-layered cup structure referred to as the optic cup
Using what you know about sonic hedgehog signalling governing the bilateral splitting of the early eye field, describe the effects of sonic hedgehog mutations on eye development
Mutations in the shh gene or inhibition of protein processing results in cyclopia. The phenotype results in a single eye in the centre of the face (and usually below the nose). This occurs to the failure of the early eye field to split and in humans leads to the condition holoprosencephaly. This is characterised by a Failure of the ventral forebrain to form and a failure of the pituitary as well as cyclopia, general problems within the midline of the face
Flies with mutant R1, 2 and 3 wont develop R7 is R8 isnt present, T or F
T – having wild type R1, 2 and 3 is not sufficient to generate an R7
Outline the process of interkinetic nuclear migration
As elsewhere in the developing CNS, proliferating cells undergo interkinetic nuclear migration. Cell division takes place at the lumen. During G1 cells migrate inward towards the lumen. They undergo S-phase at the inner surface and migrate outward in G. Cells that exit the cell cycle at the outer surface then migrate to their final location
What are the two structures from which the major sensory organs of the head develop from
Anterior neural tube and the adjacent cranial ectoderm
Wild type Drosophila are phototactic with a preference for UV light, what is seen in R7 mutants
They will go towards white (visible) light due to an inability to see UV light
What is the name of the structure where the axons of the R7 and R8 neurons cross over
Optic chiasm
What can be said about the cell division seen ahead of, within and behind the morphogenetic furrow
Ahead of the morphogenetic furrow the cells are dividing, within the furrow the cells have arrested in G1 of the cell cycle. Behind the morphogenetic furrow there is limited cell division
Interactions between the parts of the anterior neural tube with the adjacent ectoderm results in a series of epidermal thickenings. What is the name given to this thickened region of ectoderm
Cranial ectodermal placode
Th eye fields initially form as a single structure in the midline. Describe how development of the neural tube leads to the formation of two bilateral eye field structures
Prechordal mesoderm expresses sonic hedgehog in the midline. Cells in the midline are induced to form floor plate by sonic hedgehog signalling which forces the separation of the eye field. The floor plate itself pushes aside cells of the early eye field. Then Shh protein from the prechordal mesoderm and floor plate suppresses Pax6/Rx expression in the centre of the embryo, dividing the field in two