Developmental Biology

Code: BIO11469L

6 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours

Scientific Area: Biological Sciences

Teaching languages: Portuguese

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese, English

Regime de Frequência: Presencial

Presentation

Growth, Cell Differentiation and Morphogenesis. Emphasis on the gene expression mechanisms in the human species, to be complemented for other species by one of the Animal Models (BIO11485L) modules.

Sustainable Development Goals

2. Erradicar a fome - Acabar com a fome, alcançar a segurança alimentar e melhoria da nutrição e promover a agricultura sustentável.

3. Saúde de qualidade - Assegurar uma vida saudável e promover o bem-estar para todos, em todas as idades.

4. Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

8. Trabalho digno e crescimento económico - Promover o crescimento económico sustentado, inclusivo e sustentável, emprego pleno e produtivo, e trabalho decente para todos.

9. Indústria, inovação e infraestruturas - Construir infraestrutura resiliente, promover a industrialização inclusiva e sustentável, e fomentar a inovação.

Learning Goals

A) Specialised formal learning of Developmental Biology, in the context of the acquired knowledge of Embryology (BIO2019) and envisioning the continuity with Animal Models (BIO2105), centred on the concepts defined by chapters 2, 3 and 4 of the syllabus, and details thereof on the "mechanisms" at molecular, cellular and physiological levels, including pathological incidences.
B) Introduction to the most relevant experimental approaches
C) Stimulation of personal initiative through an evaluation based on autonomous literature reviews, and participation in group discussions, on specific themes of Human Developmental Biology designed to promote motivation for this study discipline. Moreover, this model of evaluation aims at developing a new perception of team work, and of a community of knowledge spanning the student class, together with a diversified learning given the opportunity to approach in depth one or two specific themes referable to the syllabus.

1. Introduction
Review of main concepts
2. Growth
Growth curves, secular trends in postnatal maturation
Cell cycle control, apoptosis. Signal transduction pathways. Promoters, transcription factors, DNA methylation. Chromatin conformation. Monoallelic expression. Senescence
Flow cytometry. Biochemical, genetics and molecular biology approaches. Somatotyping.
3. Cell differentiation
Examples: growth plate of long bones, blood tissue
Signal transduction pathways for cell differentiation
Stem cells, iPS. Cancer theories. Cancer Stem Cells. Metastasis
FACS, clonogenesis, transplants, chimeras, gene introduction, nuclear reprogramming
4. Morphogenesis
Examples: asymmetry left-right, body axes, limb development, odontogenesis.
Mechanisms: intercellular recognition and adhesion, reaction-diffusion, segregation of cellular groups, cellular migration, epithelial-mesenchymal interactions, embryo regionalisation and segmentation Computer simulation

Teaching Methods

Theoretical sessions:
Expository model shared between the teacher, who is responsible for covering the course program, and the students, organized into groups of three, with one group per session presenting a topic that complements the content presented by the teacher on the same day. These presentations are part of the continuous assessment (flipped classroom).
Complementation of contact sessions with graphical contents, literature and hyperlinks for the presented subjects, as indicated in separate Web pages (namely, https://bd.dbio.uevora.pt/) referenced in the Moodle platform.
Practical involving observation of embryos under a microscope, as an initial framing of the course unit.

Assessment

Continuous assessment: group work throughout the semester, using the flipped classroom model (45% of the grade) and three tests (55% of the grade).
Final examination: one sitting per term.