66834 - Development Biology

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student has knowledge on some developmental processes through the study of embryonic development in different model organisms; it also acquires an integrated and historical vision of the experimental approaches that have allowed the development of this discipline and of the contributions that this discipline has made to the study of evolution.

Course contents

Introduction of Descriptive Embryology, Experimental Embryology and Developmental Biology. Model organisms used to study developmental biology. The main stages of internal and external fertilization. Detailed study of the sperm and oocyte. The stages of development: differentiation, regional specification, morphogenesis. The Drosophila model: Drosophila oogenesis. Segmentation: the creation of multicellularity. Segmentation models: holoblastic segmentation meroblastic segmentation The mechanisms of segmentation. Drosophila segmentation. Gastrulation: the reorganization of the embryo. General characteristics. Drosophila gastrulation. The division of the body into segments. The C Elegans model: life cycle, developmental stages, the role of apoptosis. THE SPECIFICATION OF THE BODY AXES: THE ANTERO-POSTERIOR AXIS; THE DORSO-VENTRAL AXIS. The inductive relationships between follicular cells and oocyte. The sea urchin model. Segmentation, gastrulation, fate maps, and functional studies. Resulting models: the concepts of inductive interactions and cytoplasmic determinants. The Zebrafish Model The Zebrafish as a model system for fish development. Stages of Zebrafish development. Generation of mutants and genetic screening. Genes implicated in the determination of the dorsal-ventral, antero-posterior and right-left axes. Using Zebrafish in search. The Xenopus model. The amphibian egg and the animal-vegetative polarity. Cortical rotation and the origin of dorsal-ventral polarity. Segmentation, gastrulation and neurulation. Destiny and specification maps. "Constriction" experiments in amphibian embryos. Spemann and Mangold's experiments: the concept of "primary organizer" and its functions. The concept of "Nieuwkoop centre". Main signaling pathways involved in mesodermal induction. TGFbeta molecules (Vg1, activins, nodal-related factors); FGF; Wnt/beta-catenin. The transcription factor VegT. The main molecules responsible for the "patterning" of the mesoderm: BMP4 and Xwnt8; chordin, noggin, follistatin, Xnr3, cerberus. The neural tube. The organization of the neural tube. Neural crests and their derivatives. Planar route and vertical route. Activation-transformation model. The molecules of neural induction. Outlines of the development of birds and mammals. Segmentation and gastrulation. The formation of embryonic appendages: structure and function.

Readings/Bibliography

Manuale di biologia dello sviluppo animale. Edises.

Biologia dello sviluppo, Gilbert. III Edizione.

Teaching methods

Powepoint presentation and experiments in laboratory, using zebrafish embryo model.

Assessment methods

Oral exam: 3 questions of the program and powerpoint presentation of a scientific article.

Teaching tools

Projector and laboratory.

Office hours

See the website of Roberto Feuda