BIO305 Developmental Biology

FINAL EXAM

________________________ NAME

This exam is worth a total of 150 points.

Write a one or two word answer in the space provided.

2 points each, 34 points total

1) ______________________ What are mutations called that cause a shift in the timing of development in a plant or animal?

2) ______________________ What gene controls the transition between vegetative growth and reproductive growth in plants?

3) ______________________ Give one of the terms used to describe a mutation that completely destroys a gene?

4) ______________________ What ion is used to help provide apical/basal orientation for the first mitotic division during development of the brown algae, Fucus?

5) ______________________ Sperm fusion triggers an increase in concentration of what ion inside the egg?

6) ______________________ Give an example of a protein that if injected into an early frog embryo would cause a second embryo to form on the tummy of the first embryo. (There are several possibilities. Take time to think of a good one.)

7) ______________________ Give an example of a gene that when mutant in fruit flies would cause the embryo to develop with no ventral structures. (There are several possibilities. Take time to think of a good one.)

8) ______________________ What are the connections between cells in plants called that allow diffusion of some mRNA and proteins from one cell to another?

9) ______________________ To what part of the promoter do transcription factors bind?

10) ______________________ What signaling factor is released from the lateral plate mesoderm to help pattern the somite?

11) ______________________ What is the growing tip of an axon called?

12) ______________________ What process in a motor neuron does neurotrpohin prevent?

13) ______________________ During sea urchin development, what do the primary mesenchyme cells let go of so they can migrate into the embryo?

14) ______________________ What is the process called when a sperm releases enzymes to degrade the jelly coat of an egg?

15) ______________________ What is another term for an endocrine factor?

16) ______________________ What is the general term for a gene whose function in the embryo cannot be provided by the paternal genome?

17) ______________________ What gene do you feel has the coolest name?

Use the attached pages to answer the following.

10 points each, 40 points total

1) Compare and contrast mechanisms of X chromosome dosage compensation in human, fruit flies, and nematodes.

2) Describe how neuronal stem cells become specified in vertebrates.

3) Define and compare cell fate, specification, and determination.

4) List the three major proteins of the cytoskeleton and give an example of the use of each one in development.

Write the correct term for the stage of frog embryogenesis indicated by the letters in the above diagram.

2 points each. 10 points total.

A) ________________

B) ________________

C) ________________

D) ________________

E) ________________

Write the correct term for what the frog embryo is called at the stage indicated by the numbers in the above diagram.

2 points each. 6 points total.

1) ________________

2) ________________

3) ________________

Use the attached pages to answer the following.

60 points

1) Describe the mechanisms and genes involved in patterning the three axes of the vertebrate limb.

2) Beginning with the germ line stem cell in the tip of the ovary, describe the events that lead to patterning of the anterior/posterior axis in fruit flies including the genes involved.

3) Describe three different examples of the role that the regulatory pathway that includes the Hox gene cluster has played in animal evolution.