SL22041: Gene regulation and vertebrate development
[Page last updated: 03 June 2024]
| Academic Year: | 2024/25 |
| Owning Department/School: | Department of Life Sciences |
| Credits: | 10 [equivalent to 20 CATS credits] |
| Notional Study Hours: | 200 |
| Level: | Intermediate (FHEQ level 5) |
| Period: |
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| Assessment Summary: | CWRI 20%, EXOB 80% |
| Assessment Detail: |
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| Supplementary Assessment: |
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| Requisites: | Before taking this module you must take SL12002 |
| Learning Outcomes: |
By the end of this unit, you will be able to:
* Recall and discuss the genes and pathways regulating development; * Explain the developmental processes across a range of species; * Discuss the current approaches in the study of gene expression, overexpression and ablation and their relevance to development; * apply your knowledge and understanding of developmental biology by carrying out laboratory techniques related to gene expression in different organisms. |
| Synopsis: | You will acquire knowledge of fundamental concepts of modern developmental biology. You will gain an understanding of how genes are regulated, processes that occur during embryonic development and the genetic pathways involved in gene regulatory expression within several model organisms. You will learn about cutting edge methods, such as gene editing, and gain practical laboratory skills using embryos of model organisms and key experimental approaches used in developmental biology. |
| Content: | Concepts of gene regulation within different organisms will be discussed including both mammalian and yeast systems. This will include the existence of promoters, enhancers, introns and exons, splicing, transcription factors and other gene regulatory concepts which could include epigenetics, lncRNA, post-transcriptional regulation, and structural biology. The unit will also include the study of comparative animal development of higher organisms such as frogs, fish and mice and what bearing studying these model organisms have on human embryonic development and disease processes. Animal development covering gametogenesis and fertilisation, mammalian preimplantation development, early development including cell movement, gastrulation and morphogenesis will be covered. Other concepts will be introduced which could include stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, transgenesis and targeted mutagenesis, gene editing, X-chromosome inactivation, imprinting, large scale mutagenesis and comparative genomics. Laboratory practical sessions will utilise model organisms and visualisation techniques, which could include immunohistochemistry in mouse and live imaging to look at fluorescent expression driven by cell-type specific promoters in live zebrafish embryos. |
| Course availability: |
SL22041 is Optional on the following courses:Department of Chemistry
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Notes:
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