EZO-30306 Developmental Biology of Animals

Course

Credits 6.00

Language of instruction:

Dutch or English

Assumed knowledge on:

CBI-10306 Cell Biology; EZO-10306 Human and Animal Biology I and HAP-20306 Human and Animal Biology, part 2.

Contents:

This course is designed to introduce you to the practical aspects of animal development. You will be introduced to the embryology of three important model species: zebrafish (Danio rerio), chicken (Gallus domesticus), and mouse (Mus musculus). Subsequently you will experience the practical aspects of performing animal experiments to answer questions in developmental biology. The (quantitative) analysis of these experiments will also receive attention.

Learning outcomes:

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:
- recognize the embryonic stages of three model species in developmental biology: zebrafish (Danio rerio), chicken (Gallus domesticus), and mouse (Mus musculus);
- interpret microscopic sections through these embryos;
- summarize the characteristics of these species that make them popular model species;
- execute an experimental protocol;
- design a simple experiment using one of the model species;
- judge your experimental results;
- compose a scientific report and give a scientific presentation.

Activities:

- actively participate in the lectures and study the discussed material;
- prepare and actively participate in the laboratory exercises, including designing and performing your own experiments on the model species;
- write a reports and give a presentation on the laboratory exercises;
- join a half-day excursion.

Examination:

- reports of the laboratory exercises to be made in pairs (30%);
- written examination with open questions (70%).

Literature:

Manual including background reading material for the lectures and a description of the laboratory exercises.
S.F. Gilbert (2014). Developmental Biology, 10th ed. Sinauer Associates. Note: this textbook is not compulsory, but is suggested as a very useful complementary information source.