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What is developmental biology? ANSW ✔✔ The study of how multicellular
organisms grow and mature from a single fertilized egg (zygote).
What is the difference between genotype and phenotype? ANSW ✔✔
Genotype is the genetic instructions inherited from parents, while phenotype
is the observable characteristics resulting from gene expression and
environmental factors.
Which technique is used to visualise gene expression patterns in embryos?
ANSW ✔✔ In-situ hybridization.
What role do morphogens play in development? ANSW ✔✔ Morphogens are
signaling molecules that form concentration gradients and instruct cells to
adopt specific developmental fates.
What is the function of Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) in development? ANSW ✔✔
Shh establishes the neural tube by acting as a morphogen.
Define totipotent stem cells and give an example. ANSW ✔✔ Totipotent stem
cells can form all cell types including the placenta; an example is the zygote.
Where do embryonic stem cells originate from? ANSW ✔✔ From the inner
cell mass of the blastocyst.
What are the four Yamanaka factors used to induce pluripotency? ANSW ✔✔
Oct4, Sox2, KLF4, and c-Myc.
,How do mesenchymal stem cells modulate immune responses? ANSW ✔✔
They can differentiate into bone, fat, and cartilage, and influence immune cell
function.
What is symmetric division in stem cells? ANSW ✔✔ Division resulting in two
identical stem cells.
What is the difference between forward and reverse genetics? ANSW ✔✔
Forward genetics starts with phenotype to find genes; reverse genetics starts
with genes to determine phenotypes.
What does ENU mutagenesis do in zebrafish? ANSW ✔✔ Induces random
DNA mutations for identifying developmental gene functions.
What model organism has transparent embryos and external development,
ideal for genetic manipulation? ANSW ✔✔ Zebrafish.
What are morpholinos used for? ANSW ✔✔ To knock down gene expression
transiently in zebrafish embryos.
What is the purpose of the Tol2 transposon system? ANSW ✔✔ For stable
integration of transgenes into the zebrafish genome.
Which maternal mRNA localizes to the anterior of the Drosophila embryo?
ANSW ✔✔ bicoid (bcd).
Which protein gradient represses translation of caudal mRNA? ANSW ✔✔
Bicoid protein.
, Which gene is responsible for terminal patterning in Drosophila? ANSW ✔✔
Torso (tor), which activates Ras/MAPK signaling.
What is the function of gap genes like hunchback and kruppel? ANSW ✔✔
They define broad regions along the anterior-posterior axis.
Which pair-rule gene is regulated by bicoid and hunchback, and repressed by
giant and kruppel? ANSW ✔✔ even-skipped stripe 2.
What is the GAL4/UAS system used for in Drosophila? ANSW ✔✔ To drive
tissue-specific gene expression.
What is a balancer chromosome? ANSW ✔✔ A modified chromosome that
suppresses recombination and maintains lethal mutations.
How was the EBF3 gene variant tested in Drosophila? ANSW ✔✔ Human and
fly gene variants were used in rescue experiments; patient variants failed to
rescue.
Which model organism shows neurodegeneration via polyQ protein expression
in the eyes? ANSW ✔✔ Drosophila.
Which gene mutation causes sulfite oxidase deficiency in flies? ANSW ✔✔
shop, the fly homologue of SUOX.
What is a PAM site and why is it important? ANSW ✔✔ A protospacer
adjacent motif (e.g., NGG) required for Cas9 to bind and cut DNA.