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Course: Developmental Biology, Biology 310 Instructor: Dr. Ed Devlin Office: Gilmer 107, 6173, edevlin@hsc.edu http://people.hsc.edu/faculty-staff/edevlin/edsweb01/courses/Development/developmental_biology.htm Course Objectives This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of the principles of development. Developmental biology is an integrated field of study. You will find that the borders separating the disciplines of developmental biology, genetics, cell biology, biochemistry and molecular biology have become indistinct as there are a number of common themes including cell signaling, control of gene expression, cell migration and others in all those disciplines. We find that the pathways of development are very similar in diverse animal groups, and we will be using a number of model organisms to deconstruct the patterns of early development in animals. We will include discussions from the current literature to better understand how cells organize themselves into patterns during development. There are a number of practical reasons to study developmental biology. But just as important as these practical reasons will be the development of an appreciation of the elegant processes by which a single cell is transformed into a complex multicellular organism.
Texts Because of the complexity of the field, many of the popular texts in Developmental Biology are somewhat encyclopedic in nature. They contain a lot of material, and are suitable for both advanced undergraduate and graduate-level courses. They are great texts, but they do not make for a very easy read. This semester we will be using a text written specifically for an undergraduate audience. The book is very readable and it should provide a useful supplement to our class discussions in the course. The text we will be using is by Wolpert and Trickle Principles of Development (Oxford). It is in its fourth edition, 2011 and hence represents much of what is current in the field. There is an online resource center for the text that can be found at www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/orc/wolpert4e/ that provides flashcards, multiple choice questions as well as web links and activities. In addition, we will use current readings from a number of journals including Development, Developmental Dynamics and Cell to support the topics under discussion in the text.
Laboratory The laboratory is designed as an integral part of the course. You will find it difficult to do well in the course without mastering the lab material and techniques. The laboratory consists of experiments using a variety of live animal systems including the slime molds, sponge, sea urchin, zebrafish, Xenopus, Chick and Drosophila. Laboratory attendance is mandatory, you cannot receive a passing grade with any unexcused absences in the lab. I have written a lab manual that I will provide that describes the experimental labs. In addition to a copy of the lab manual I will provide, you should get a hardcover lab notebook for write-ups of labs.
Grading
Four Lecture Exams 60% Laboratory 25% Notebook (10%) Paper and Presentation (15%) Cumulative Final 15% 100%
Lecture Topics Chapters in Text
1. Introduction and Historic Context 1 2. Some Basic Principles of Development 1 3. Introduction to Cell Signaling 1 4. The Fly Model, Introduction to Drosophila/Holoporsencephaly 2 5. Drosophila Oogenesis 2 6. Patterning the Drosophila Embryo 2 7. Xenopus Early Development 3 8. Zebrafish Early Development 3 9. Chick Early Development 3 10. Exam I - 11. More Early Vertebrate Development 3 12. Establishment of the Body Axis 4 13. Cell Signaling and the Body Axis 4 14. Specification of the Germ Layers 4 15. Neural Induction 5 16. Signaling and the Early Nervous System 5 17. Somite Formation 5 18. Development of the Early Brain 5 19. Nematode Development (may end up being optional) 6 20. Exam II - 21. Sea Urchin Early Development 6 22. Organization of the Echinoderm Embryo 6 23. Cell Adhesion and Morphogenesis 8 24. Cleavage and Blastula 8 25. Cell Movements in Gastrulation 8 26. Neural Tube Formation 8 27. Germ Cells 9 28. Early Fertilization Events 9 29. Activation of the Egg 9 30. Cell Differentiation 10 31. Exam III - 32. Stem Cells 10 33. Limb Development 11 34. Eye Development 11 35. Heart Development 11 36. Kidney Development 11 37. Nervous System Morphogenesis 12 38. Patterning of the Nervous System 12 39. Growth During Late Development (probably optional) 13 40. Aging (probably optional) 13 41. Exam IV - 42. Review -
Lab Schedule
Aug 28 Dictyostelium - Cell Signaling Sept 4 Drosophila - Heat Shock Proteins Expression Sept 11 Drosophila Imaginal Disk and Ecdysone Sept 18 Early Zebrafish Development/Protein Fingerprinting I Sept 25 Protein Fingerprinting II Oct 2 Early Xenopus Development Oct 9 Microscopic Examination Fertilization and Cleavage Oct 16 Fertilization - Sea Urchin Oct 23 Microscopic Examination of Heart Development Oct 30 In Vitro Chick Heart Development Nov 6 Cell Surface Glycoproteins and Sponge Reaggeration Nov 13 Presentations I Nov 20 Presentations II -- Dec 4 Buffer Lab
Presentation/Paper
Each student is required to write a research paper and make a PowerPoint presentation on their research topic during one of the last two lab periods. The topic of the paper is one you select that deals with some aspect of developmental biology, embryonic development or teratogenesis (abnormal development). Your paper should take the format of a detailed literature review of some area of interest you have or that you develop during the semester. You may start your literature search by looking at appropriate journals in our library. This should be followed by a computer literature search using the various one-line services available online. Note that most of the literature sources will not be found in our library and must be ordered in from surrounding libraries. Therefore it is very important to start your search as soon early in the semester as possible. Another aspect of this paper is that the literature used must be primary literature from refereed journals. While many online journals are available and may be used (see links below) almost all of the more common websites and references may not be used unless they are from a valid refereed journal. The format for the references you cite in your paper should follow the format used in the literature cited section of any of the major journals you have used. By mid-semester you should hand in a short general outline for your paper with the key papers you plan to use. Your papers are due the last day of classes. A PowerPoint presentation of your paper will be given to the class in the last two weeks during lab. Any new ideas resulting from your presentation should be integrated into your final draft of your paper. If you want to start getting into the literature (and you should as soon as possible), here are a few relevant journals to be examined:
Cell Development Developmental Biology Fertility and Sterility Journal of Cell Biology Teratology Developmental Dynamics Journal of Embryology and Experimental Morphology Journal of Reproduction and Fertility
In addition, here is a link to PubMed, probably the best online search engine for papers on development:
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