Course Description
A) Basic concepts of development: Potency, commitment, specification, induction, competence, determination and differentiation; morphogenetic gradients; cell fate and cell lineages; stem cells; genomic equivalence and the cytoplasmic determinants; imprinting; mutants and transgenics in analysis of development.
B) Gametogenesis, fertilization and early development: Production of gametes, cell surface molecules in sperm-egg recognition in animals; embryo sac development and double fertilization in plants; zygote formation, cleavage, blastula formation, embryonic fields, gastrulation and formation of germ layers in animals; embryogenesis, establishment of symmetry in plants; seed formation and germination.
C) Morphogenesis and organogenesis in animals : Cell aggregation and differentiation in Dictyostelium; axes and pattern formation in Drosophila, amphibia and chick; organogenesis – vulva formation in Caenorhabditis elegans, eye lens induction, limb development and regeneration in vertebrates; differentiation of neurons, post embryonic development- larval formation, metamorphosis; environmental regulation of normal development; sex determination.
D) Morphogenesis and organogenesis in plants: Organization of shoot and root apical meristem; shoot and root development; leaf development and phyllotaxy; transition to flowering, floral meristems and floral development in Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum
E) Fertilization – Events in fertilization. Cytoplasmic changes. Nuclear changes. Prevention of polyspermy. Significance of fertilization. Developmental Model Systems. Early development of Drosophila-Egg, cleavage, mid-blastula transition, gastrulation. Early development of Caenorhabditis elegans-Egg, cleavage and gastrulation.Genetic control of development and embryonic axis formation.Gene action in development of Drosophila:- Maternal effect genes; Segmental genes (gap genes, pair-rule gene and segment polarity gene) and Homeotic genes (homeobox and homeodomains). Hox cluster genes in vertebrates. Embryonic Induction. Types of embryonic induction – Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Induction (Experiments of Spemann and Mangold). Mechanism of axis formation in amphibians; Niewkoopcentre.The functions of organizer; the diffusible proteins of the organizer 1; the BMP inhibitors.Stem cells, totipotency, pleury potency
Who This Course is for
This course is for CSIR-NET aspirants and students pursuing post-graduation in different biological sciences. This course is designed to provide an in and out knowledge of basic and analytical concepts.
