Laboratory of Transcriptional Regulation

Teaching

Model organisms in developmental biology – Faculty of Science, Charles University

The main aim of the lecture course Model organisms in developmental biology (MB150P83) is to provide an overview of various animal model organisms used in developmetal biology. Naturally, any given model organism has its experimental strenghts and weaknesses. Therefore the emphasis of the course will be on a comparative view that should allow students to pick the most suitable organism for any given scientific question and/or for their future research interest. The course will deal both with vertebrates and invertebrates. However, considerable amount of time will be devoted to mouse as the key model organism in “biomedicine”. Current experimental tools and scientific resources available for each model organism will be of primary focus. In addition, unique contribution of each model organism to our overall knowledge in biology will be discussed.

Syllabus

1.Model organisms in developmental biology-overview, basic terms.
2.Mouse I
3.Mouse II
4.Mouse III
5.Chicken
6.Xenopus
7.Zebrafish and medaka
8.Drosophila
9.Caenorhabditis elegans
10.Emerging invertebrate models ((Nematostella, Platynereis, Tribolium, Amphioxus)
11.Comparative approach: the field of Evolution and Development (Evo-Devo)