Animal developmental biology

biology

obligatory courses

We recommend that student, who is going to take a course in animal developmental biology, has a basic knowledge of the biology of the animal cell, in particular on cell morphology, physiology and on the regulation of the cell cycle. Not recommended for the students on the 1st year of on the first level of studies.

Classroom

The object of the practical part of the program is to familiarize students with the course of the embryonic development of animals belonging to different systematic groups (invertebrates – roundworms, insects, echinoderms and vertebrates – fish, amphibians, birds and mammals). During practical classes the development of model organisms for a given taxon is discussed during an introductory lecture and subsequently is demonstrated during classes using fixed and live material.

The aim of the lecture is to give an introduction to molecular mechanisms which regulate sequential stages of animal development. Developmental processes, which are presented during the lecture, are discussed on the basis of the results of experiments carried on model organisms.

The aim of practical classes is to demonstrate the pattern of development of animals, which belong to different systematic groups. Developmental stages are shown and discussed in invertebrate model organisms – Caenorhabditis elegans, sea urchin, Drosophila melanogaster, as well as in vertebrates – fish, birds, mammals. During each class short introductory instruction on the subject of the class goes before the practical part. During this talk, the objects which are going to be the observed by students, are discussed in detail. Subsequently students individually observe and analyze preparations provided by teaching assistant or make simple preparations by themselves using live material (C. elegans, early chick embryos).

During the lecture students are introduced to basic molecular mechanism, which control development of the animals. Successive stages of development are presented, and regulation of developmental processes in model organisms is illustrated with slides, films and computer animations, which are integrated into presentations. The following topics are covered during the course: Introduction - developmental processes, stages of development, sexual reproduction; Gametogenesis - primordial germ cells, somatic cells accompanying germ cells, meiosis and cell differentiation during spermatogenesis and oogenesis, gene expression during oogenesis, localized RNA in the oocyte; Oocyte maturation – molecular mechanisms which control maturation of the oocyte in amphibians and mammals (MPF, CSF, MAPK); Fertilization – mechanisms regulating fertilization in sea urchin and mouse; Cleavage – molecular control of karyokinesis and cytokinesis, regulation of the cell cycle during early development, different patterns of cleavage, genetic control of cleavage, cleavage of the mammalian embryo; Early determination of the cell fate – autonomous determination – mosaic development, conditional determination – regulative development, significance of localized maternal determinants, cell differentiation in development of C. elegans; Sequential expression of genes which regulate development of D. melanogaster – gradients of maternal factors, spatially diversified expression of embryonic genes, role of homeotic genes; Gastrulation – mechanisms of gastrulation movements in sea urchin, gastrulation in other selected organisms, prospective fate map of amphibian blastula and determination of the localization of the dorsal lip of the blatopore; Regulative development – development of the sea urchin, regulative potential of the early mammalian embryo, mammalian embryonic stem cells, reduction of the developmental potential of cells in gastrulating amphibian embryo, the function of organizer, cascade of induction during development of X. laevis, induction of mesoderm; Inductive interactions during organogenesis – competence of a given tissue to respond to a specific inductive signal, epithelial-mesenchymal interactions, regional specificity of induction, genetic specificity of induction, role of the Hox genes in patterning of the embryo; Development of the tetrapod limb – role of the Hox genes in specification of the position of the limb, regulative properties of the amphibian limb bud, formation of the limb bud, specification of the forelimb or hindlimb, interactions of the epithelium and mesenchyme of the limb bud – formation of apical ectodermal ridge, pattern formation during development of the limb; Development of the gonads in mammals– source of primordial germ cells and cells which form the somatic part of the gonads, hormonal regulation of the sexual phenotype – development of the gonads and their ducts in mammals, regulation of the development of external genitalia, masculinization factors, pole plasm and pole cells in D. melanogaster, formation and migration of primordial germ cells in birds and mammals, chromosomal diminution in Parascaris; Sex determination – genetic sex determination in mammals and in D. melanogaster, environmental sex determination.

Ćwiczenia z biologii rozwoju zwierząt, (red. M. Maleszewski). 2007. Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.

- Gilbert F.S., Developmental biology, wyd. 6 - 9. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, Massachusetts USA.

- LeMoigne A., Biologia rozwoju, 1999, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa.

- Molekularne mechanizmy rozwoju zarodkowego. (red. H. Krzanowska i W. Sokół-Misiak). 2002. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa.

- Twyman R.M., Biologia rozwoju. Krótkie wykłady, 2005. Wydawnictwa Naukowe PWN.

- Podstawy embriologii zwierząt i człowieka, t. 1-2, (red. C. Jura i J. Klag). 2005. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.- Bielańska-Osuchowska Z., Zarys organogenezy. 2004. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.

- Bielańska-Osuchowska Z., Embriologia. 2001. Państwowe Wydawnictwo Rolnicze i Leśne, Warszawa.

After completing the practical course of animal developmental biology students are familiar with the pattern of development in different taxa of the animal kingdom. They are able to recognize subsequent stages of development of model organisms, which were demonstrated during the course (gametogenesis, fertilization, cleavage, gastrulation, organogenesis). Students are aware of differences in the pattern of development in the animals belonging to diverse systematic groups and are familiar with the basic mechanisms which regulate development of animals, which were the subject of the course.

After familiarizing himself/herself with the subject of the lecture student understands the course and significance of developmental processes and knows basic cellular and molecular mechanisms, which control these processes. He recognizes significance of morphogenetic factors and cell-cell interactions for development. He is aware of similarities and differences of the mechanisms of the pattern formation during development of animals belonging to different systematic groups.

During each class students have to familiarize themselves with preparations made by them from live object or provided by teaching assistant. Students are asked to sketch and correctly describe the objects observed – help of the lecturer is continuously available. At the end of each class protocols are returned to assistant who evaluates their content and assigns score to them. There is a minimum score required to be admitted to the final assessment, which has a form of written examination. The examination is divided into two parts. The first part takes place in the middle of the semester, the second part at the end. After passing this examination, students take the final written examination which covers the content of the lecture and of the practical course. Student is allowed to skip two classes during the whole course. The absence of a larger number of classes results in the deletion from the list of participants.

not required