Chapter 21: Genetics of Development
AP Biology
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Judith S. de Nuño
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Chapter Objectives

    1. Distinguish between the patterns of morphogenesis in plants and animals
    2. List the animals used as models of developmental biology research and provide a rationale for their choice
    3. Describe how genomic equivalence was determined for plants and animals
    4. Describe what kinds of changes occur to the genome during differentiation
    5. Describe the general process by which Dolly was cloned
    6. Describe the molecular basis of determination
    7. Describe the 2 sources of information that instruct a cell to express genes at the appropriate time
    8. Describe how Drosophila were used to explain basic aspects of pattern formation (axis formation and segmentation)
    9. Describe how homeotic genes serve to identify parts of the developing organism
    10. Provide evidence of the conservation of homeobox sequences
    11. Describe how the study of nematodes contributed to the general understanding of embryonic induction
    12. Describe how apotosis functions in normal and abnormal development
    13. Describe how the study of tomatoes has contributed to the understanding of flower development
    14. Describe how the study of Arabidopsis has contributed to the understanding of organ identity in plants
         

Chapter Terms:

differentiation

morphogenesis

apical meristems

model organism

cell lineage

totipotent

determination

cytoplasmic determinants

 

pattern formation

induction

positional information

embryonic lethals

maternal effect genes

egg-polarity genes

morphogens

segmentation genes

gap genes

 

pair-rule genes

segment-polarity genes

homeotic genes

homeobox

apoptosis

chimeras

organ-identity genes

 

Chapter Outline Framework

    1. From Single Cell to Multicellular Organism
      1. Embryonic development involves cell division, morphogenesis, and cell differentiation
      2. Researchers study development in model organisms to identify general principles
    2. Differential Gene Expression
      1. Different types of cells in an organism have the same DNA
      2. Different cell types make different proteins, usually as a result of transcriptional regulation
      3. Transcriptional regulation is directed by maternal molecules in the cytoplasm and signals from other cells
    3. Genetic and Cellular Mechanisms of Pattern Formation
      1. Genetic analysis of development in Drosophila reveals how genes control development
      2. Gradients of maternal molecules in the early embryo control axis formation
      3. A cascade of gene activations sets up the segmentation pattern in Drosophila
      4. Homeotic genes direct the identity of body parts
      5. Homeobox genes have been highly conserved in evolution
      6. Neighboring cells instruct other cells to form particular structures: cell signaling and induction in the nematode
      7. Plant development depends on cell signaling and transcriptional regulation

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