Development Flashcards
(22 cards)
What is animal development?
The process by which a fertilized ovum becomes a mature organism capable of reproduction.
What is the body plan in animal development?
The arrangement and pattern of body parts specific to a species.
What is the role of genes in animal development?
Many of the instructions necessary for normal development are encoded by an animal’s genes.
What fundamental questions does developmental biology seek to answer?
How do cells with identical genetic constitutions form a complex adult organism and how do cells organize into discrete tissues?
Why are nonhuman model organisms used in developmental biology?
To study early developmental events due to ethical and technical difficulties in studying human embryos.
What is ectopic expression?
Expression of the gene product in an abnormal location.
What gene in Drosophila is associated with eye formation?
The eyeless gene.
What is the human homolog of the Drosophila eyeless gene?
PAX6.
What defects are caused by mutations in the human PAX6 gene?
Defects of the eye such as cataracts and aniridia.
What percentage of babies are born with a recognizable birth defect?
Approximately 2% to 3%.
What processes are involved in embryonic development?
Axis specification, pattern formation, and organogenesis.
What is axis specification?
The definition of the major axes of the body: ventral/dorsal, anterior/posterior, medial/lateral, and left/right.
What does pattern formation describe?
A series of steps in which differentiated cells are arranged spatially to form tissues and organs.
What is organogenesis?
The formation of organs and limbs during embryonic development.
What role do proteins play in embryonic development?
They form structures and provide signals to coordinate the development of the embryo.
Fill in the blank: The generation time of Drosophila melanogaster is _______ days.
10
True or False: The genome of Caenorhabditis elegans is well characterized.
True
What is a disadvantage of using Danio rerio as a model organism?
Targeted gene modification is difficult.
What is a major advantage of using Mus musculus in developmental studies?
Pathology is similar to humans.
What is the generation time of Papio hamadryas?
60 months.
What is the main challenge when manipulating embryos of Mus musculus?
Manipulation of the embryo is challenging.
Fill in the blank: The tetraploid genome in Xenopus laevis makes genetic experiments _______.
difficult
