Lecture 23 Vocab

Front 1

cytoplasmic determinants

Back 1

substances in the egg that influence the course of early development

Front 2

cell differentiation

Back 2

the process by which cells become specialized in structure and function

Front 3

inductive signals

Back 3

signals sent from nearby cells that cause changes in the target cell

Front 4

pattern formation

Back 4

the process of developing the tissues and organs of an organism in the right places

Front 5

positional information

Back 5

the molecular cues that control pattern formation

Front 6

anterior

Back 6

the "head" end

Front 7

posterior

Back 7

the "tail" end

Front 8

dorsal

Back 8

the "back" side

Front 9

ventral

Back 9

the "front" or "belly" end

Front 10

bicoid

Back 10

a maternal effect gene in flies. the gene product triggers formation of anterior structures where its concentration is highest

Front 11

maternal effect gene

Back 11

a gene that, when mutant in the mother, results in a mutant phenotype in the offspring, regardless of the offspring's own genotype

Front 12

morphogen

Back 12

substance that triggers development of an embryo's body axes and other major physical features

Front 13

hox genes

Back 13

chort for homeotic genes. a set of highly conserved genes that code for transcription factors affecting pattern formation

Front 14

homeobox

Back 14

the portion of a hox gene that codes for the homeodomain

Front 15

homeodomain

Back 15

a protein domain that binds to DNA. It is part of the hox gene products because they act as transcription factors.