Molecular Genetics and Development

- To describe the changes in DNA methylation that occur upon fertilization and during early mammalian development and some of the mechanisms involved - To understand that TET proteins are involved in active demethylation - To provide an example of how the epigenome can change post-embryonic development - To have been reminded of the method of Chromatin Immunoprecipitation and introduced to Bisulfite Sequencing

- To have gained an understanding of why epigenetics is relevant to development - To understand that DNA methylation can impact gene expression and be able to describe an experimental approach to test this - To explain how patterns of DNA methylation can be maintained through DNA replication - To understand that covalent histone modifications form a code that can impact gene expression - To explain how some histone modifications can be maintained through DNA replication

- Explain the significance of the neural crest lineage to vertebrate anatomy. - Distinguish the ventral-lateral and dorsal pathways of neural crest migration. - Give examples of cell types derived from specific AP regions of neural crest. - Describe and interpret experiments used to ‘fate map’ neural crest cells in avian embryos. - Describe and interpret experiments used to determine the developmental potential of neural crest cells in avian embryos.

- Describe the experimental evidence supporting a conserved pathway for regulating neurogenesis in animals - Discuss the conserved function of proneural genes in neurogenesis - Discuss the conserved function of neurogenic genes in neurogenesis - Describe the role of lateral inhibition in selecting neural precursors - Describe the conserved role of notch-delta signalling in mediating lateral inhibition - Appreciate and discuss the distinct processes of neural induction, neurogenesis and neurulati...

-Describe and interpret the embryological experiments that demonstrated a role for the notochord and floorplate in motor neuron induction. -Describe and interpret the experiments that show Shh acts as a morphogen to pattern the ventral neural tube. -Be able to explain the concept of morphogen using examples. -Describe the Shh signal transduction pathway.