Developmental Genetics Vocabulary

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the Developmental Genetics lecture notes focusing on Drosophila development, gene expression, and segmentation.

Developmental Genetics

The study of the genes that control embryogenesis, their expression, regulation, and effects of mutations.

Differential Gene Expression

The activation and inactivation of genes at different times and in different cell types, leading to cell specialization.

Totipotent cells

Cells capable of differentiating into any specialized cell type; found in the zygote.

Pluripotent cells

Embryonic stem cells (ESC) that can form any of the 200 different cell types in an adult organism.

Embryonic Germ Cells (EGC)

Cells that will form the primordial germ cells, which develop into gametes.

Epigenetic Regulation

Regulation of gene expression through DNA methylation, histone tail modifications, and noncoding RNA, important for cell identity.

Hox Genes

Regulatory genes (homeotic) that control the size and shape of animal bodies; not species-specific.

Drosophila Life Cycle

Consists of embryo, 3 larval stages, pupa, and adult stages over approximately 10 days.

Syncytium

Multinucleate cell formed during early Drosophila development due to nuclear division without cytokinesis.

Pole Cells

Cells that form at the posterior end of the Drosophila embryo and will become the germ cells of the adult.

Blastoderm

A single layer of cells formed around the outside edge of the Drosophila embryo, approximately 3 hours after fertilization.

Anterior-Posterior Axis

The front to back axis of symmetry established in the Drosophila embryo through transcriptional programs.

Dorsal-Ventral Axis

The upper to lower axis of symmetry established in the Drosophila embryo through transcriptional programs.

Maternal-Effect Genes

Genes whose mRNA and proteins are produced by the maternal genome and placed in the developing egg; function early in development.

Zygotic Genes

Genes transcribed in the zygote and early stages of development; includes segmentation and homeotic genes.

Segmentation Genes

Genes that progressively define the body segments in the Drosophila embryo; includes gap, pair-rule, and segment polarity genes.

Gap Genes

Segmentation genes that divide the embryo into broad regions (head, thorax, abdomen).

Pair-Rule Genes

Segmentation genes that affect the development of pairs of segments and define segment borders.

Segment Polarity Genes

Segmentation genes that divide each segment into anterior and posterior halves and guide the development of individual segments.

Homeotic Selector Genes (Hox)

Genes that specify the developmental fate of cells within each segment and determine which adult structures will be formed.

Homeobox

A 180-bp nucleotide sequence within Hox genes that encodes a 60 amino acid DNA-binding domain (homeodomain).

Antennapedia (ANT-C) Complex

Cluster of Hox genes that specify structures in the head and first two segments of the thorax.

Bithorax (BX-C) Complex

Cluster of Hox genes that specify structures in the posterior thoracic and abdominal segments.

Homeotic Mutants

Mutations causing a structure formed by one segment to transform into the structure of another segment.