MCDB138:
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY

Fall 2009

INSTRUCTOR

Karen Lyons

310- 825-5480

410C Biomedical Sciences Research Building (BSRB)/Luck Orthopaedic Research Building

GOAL OF COURSE

We will describe aspects of development common to many multicellular organisms, and, where possible, explain this in terms of genetic, cellular, and molecular mechanisms. Many developmental processes are triggered by two phenomena: changes in gene expression and cell-cell interactions. We will discuss many examples of these during the quarter, how they lead to particular developmental outcomes, and how alterations in normal patterns of gene expression and cell-cell interaction lead to developmental defects and disease. We hope that you will find developmental biology exciting and relevant, and that you will come away from this course with an appreciation of the unifying molecular genetic principles that underlie the generation of complex form in all animals.

CLASS HOURS/LOCATIONS

Lecture: Tu Th 9:30am – 10:45am 1425 PAB

Discussion Sections: 5225 MS, 2288 FRANZ

READING

The text is Principles of Development, 3rd edition, by Lewis Wolpert, available in the UCLA Student Store. You may use the 2nd edition, but you’ll need to adjust the reading assignments. In addition, lecture notes, as well as figures, are available on the course website.

TEACHING ASSISTANTS

Kristine

Peggy

Laurraine

DR LYONS’ OFFICE HOURS

Dr. Lyons: M 2-3PMTh 11-12PM401 BSRB

Extra office hours prior to midterms and final will be announced in class.

PREREQUISITES

Life Sciences 1,2,3, and 4. You can refer to your texts for these classes to refresh your memory.

DISCUSSION SECTIONS

You are required to attend one of the weekly one-hour discussion sections; you should attend the same section every week. If you cannot make it to your assigned section, you can arrange to attend a different one as long as you clear this with your TA so that you will receive credit for attending.

You will be assigned six original research papers to read (available on the course web site). You will turn in a short report on the research paper. During the section, you will discuss the research paper, and you will be able to review material from the lectures and the text.In weeks where no paper has been assigned, there may be an open-book quiz at the beginning of the section.

EXAMS AND GRADING

The final grade for the course will be calculated as follows:

Midterm Exams (2) Oct 20 and Nov 12 (in class)300 pts (150 pts each)

Discussion participation 90 pts

Discussion assignments 210 pts

Final Exam Dec 8 (8AM-11AM)400 pts =1000 pts

The exams will consist of short answers and essay questions and will cover the lecture material and the papers you will read for the discussion section. The final will cover the entire course, but will be weighted toward the material covered after the midterms. The textbook is to be read as supporting material for the lecture and discussion section topics. The lowest grade of the quizzes or reports will be dropped.

REGRADES AND MAKEUPS

Per university regulations, grade assignments are final, except for mistakes in adding up points or in grading exams, and cannot be appealed. We will be happy to go over your exam with you, explain the grading method, and if applicable, discuss how you can do better on the next exam. Grades will be available through URSA.

Make-up exams will only be given in the case of an unavoidable emergency (almost always a severe medical problem). To be fair to your classmates, only if you contact Dr. Lyons before the exam will it be decided whether your situation merits a make-up exam; failure to make contact before the exam will result in loss of the right to take a make-up. For students who are unable to attend the regularly scheduled exam due to interviews or professional commitments, we will offer you the opportunity to take the exam prior to the regularly scheduled time. You must inform Dr. Lyons at least 2 weeks prior to the scheduled exam so that an alternative exam can be designed for you, a room can be found for you to take it in, and people can be found to administer it to you.

Lecture Schedule and Reading (Wolpert, 3rd Edition)

Lecture / Date / Topic / Reading
1 / Sept 24
Th / Introduction: Principles, Models and
Genetic Approaches / Ch 1, 89-104,
327-30, 332-34
Box 3D (112-13)
2 / Sept 29
Tu / Oogenesis and spermatogenesis / 421-31
Box 3A (93)
3 / Oct 1
Th / Fertilization / 431-36, 257-67,
92-93, 96, 98,
104-5, 133
4 / Oct 6
Tu / Differential Gene Expression / 17-19, 297-309
Box 5A (189)
Box 3E (130)
Box 4B (158-9)
5 / Oct 8
Th / Ooplasmic (cytoplasmic) determinants / 25-26, 37-43
191-201
6 / Oct 13
Tu / Maternal control of pattern formation in the
early Drosophila embryo / 31-57
7 / Oct 15
Th / Zygotic control of pattern formation in the
Drosophila embryo: segmentation genes / 57-77
Oct 20
Tu / The cellular basis of morphogenesis / 257-85
8 / Oct 22
Th / MIDTERM 1 (in class)
9 / Oct 27
Tu / The molecular basis of gastrulation in
Vertebrates / 89-103, 108-19,
125-43
10 / Oct 29
Th / Determining cell fate along the anterior-
posterior axis: homeotic genes in
Drosophila and vertebrates (V. Hartenstein) / 78-84, 155-64
11 / Nov 3
Tu / Neural development: I Neurulation and
induction / 166-75, 283-85,
387-93
12 / Nov 5
Th / Gastrulation/Mesoderm formation in birds and
mammals / 149-155, 164-166
13 / Nov 10
Tu / Neural development: II. Subdivision of the
brain and spinal cord / 175-80, 286-88,
392-401
Nov 12
Th / MIDTERM 2 (in class)
14 / Nov 17
Tu / Directed cell migration. Axonal pathfinding
and neural crest cells / 177, 322-24,
401-414
15 / Nov 19
Th / Ectoderm: sensory placodes and ectodermal
appendages / 318-319
16 / Nov 24
Tu / Development of epithelia: Endoderm / 374-75
Nov 26
Th / THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
17 / Dec 1
Tu / Limb development / 339-58
18 / Dec 3
Th / Kidney development and Sex determination / 375-77, 437-46
Dec 8
Th / FINAL EXAM
8AM-11AM