PCB 4253C - Developmental Biology with Lab

College of Natural Sciences

Credit(s): 4
Contact Hours: 92
Effective Term Fall 2024 (640)

Requisites

Prerequisite PCB 3063 with a minimum grade of C and
Prerequisite PCB 3063L with a minimum grade of C

Course Description

PCB 3023C is recommended prior to this course. The course focuses on the molecular mechanisms underlying patterns of embryonic development. Emphasis will be based on the experimental approaches taken to understand development using cellular and molecular mechanisms rather than descriptive embryology. Course content will cover fertilization, axis formation, cell specification, germ layer formation, differential gene expression and organogenesis. In addition current topics will be discussed, including by not limited to: development and disease, aging and regeneration, stem cell biology as well as environmental and evolutionary developmental mechanisms. Developmental biology is interdisciplinary, incorporating all aspects of the biological sciences and can be thought of as a capstone course in undergraduate education. This course is a combined lecture and lab class. The lab component helps students to understand the scientific process and to develop skills in observation, description, data analysis, basic statistics, literature review and evaluation, and writing.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

  1. The student will explain the history of developmental biology/embryology and the current state of developmental studies on the molecular/genomic level by:
    1. describing work by classical developmental biologists including but not limited to Roux, Driesch, Spemann, Nieuwkoop, Aristotle and Van Baer.
    2. practicing classical embryological experiments in the lab and observing a variety of organisms developing in culture.
    3. using current molecular and genomic techniques to analyze biochemical pathways (DNA, RNA and Proteins) in embryo cultures over developmental time courses.
    4. performing library and/or internet research and incorporating both historical and current research into written papers and lab reports.
  2. The student will accurately interpret scientific data by using critical thinking skills by:
    1. reviewing, summarizing and critiquing peer-reviewed scientific literature relevant to developmental biology.
    2. generating and testing hypotheses related to fertilization, embryogenesis, developmental gene regulation, organogenesis and the effects of the environment on all the aforementioned.
    3. collecting and organizing data in a systematic fashion, assessing the validity of the data, and drawing appropriate conclusions based on the results.
    4. preparing a scientific paper, formal lab reports and giving an oral presentation.
  3. The student will discuss the embryonic life cycle: oocyte maturation, fertilization, cleavage, gastrulation, organogenesis and metamorphosis by:
    1. describing sex determination and establishment of the germ line.
    2. listing and describing the events leading up to a successful fertilization event in both eggs and sperm.
    3. comparing cleavage patterns in different organisms during blastogenesis.
    4. describing different patterns of cell movement during gastrulation.
    5. differentiating between the three germ layers, ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm, from formation during gastrulation through organogenesis.
    6. analyzing organogenesis of the major adult systems: nervous, circulatory, skeletal, muscular, respiratory, digestive, reproductive and integumentary systems.
    7. describing different types of metamorphosis organisms undergo from embryonic to adult life stages.
  4. The student will evaluate the evolutionary significance of development through analysis of organism classification based on early embryogenesis by:
    1. identifying of dorsal ventral and anterior posterior patterns of axis formation.
    2. identifying the process of gastrulation in vertebrates: amphibians and mammals.
    3. describing the hox gene code using drosophila and mammals as a model.
    4. comparing modes of development among different animal taxa with focus on species used as model organisms in development and mammalian/human development.
    5. examining and conducting experiments on of a wide variety of organisms in the lab.
  5. The student will explain cell-cell communication and cell fate specification during development by:
    1. distinguishing between the three steps in establishment of: cell fate specification, determination and differentiation.
    2. applying the two mechanisms of cell specification: autonomous and conditional (regulative), to all embryonic stages.
    3. applying knowledge of important cell signaling pathways during development to the mechanisms of development.
    4. describing the difference and important transitions between the two major embryonic cell types (epithelial and mesenchymal).
    5. describing the mechanism induction through paracrine factors and morphogen gradients.
  6. The student will consider development in the context of the adult organism, in relation to disease and with respect to senescence/aging by:
    1. investigating diseases that alter development as a result of inheritance or environmental teratogens.
    2. describing the process of cell death with respect to development, aging and disease.
    3. evaluating arguments for senescence/aging as an integral part of the developmental program.
    4. explaining the role of stem cells during embryogenesis, adult growth and with respect to therapeutic applications.

Criteria Performance Standard

Upon successful completion of the course the student will, with a minimum of 70% accuracy, demonstrate mastery of each of the above stated objectives through classroom measures developed by individual course instructors.

History of Changes

C&I 6/14/2011, BOT 10/2011, Effective 20112(0450).
C&I Approval: , BOT Approval: , Effective Term: Fall 2024 (640)