Module 2: Introduction to Development

Introduction and Learning Objectives: 

This module introduces the underlying developmental biology principles from fertilization to differentiated cell types, starting from the archetypal totipotent cell - the fertilized embryo. Students will learn about in vivo pluripotency and the changes that take place, from fertilization and gastrulation to cell fate commitment in the early embryo. At the conclusion of the module, students will understand how a cell with the potential to become any cell type in the body differentiates into various tissues with unique identities and functions. There is a particular focus on organizing centers, signaling molecules, and transcription factors controlling differentiation trajectories. Throughout this module students will review landmark developmental processes during embryonic development to contextualize stem cells and differentiation strategies. 

At the conclusion of this module, students should be able to:

• describe the early stages of fertilization and development across multiple species;
• identify the source of mammalian ESCs and extraembryonic tissues;
• describe the importance and cell movements of gastrulation, and compare and contrast gastrulation in different model organisms (frog, zebrafish, chicken, mouse);
• identify different germ layers in development and their derivatives;
• recognize the distinctions between totipotency, pluripotency, and multipotency;
• summarize mechanisms that regulate differentiation;
• compare and contrast how embryonic organizers, morphogens, and transcriptional signaling pattern the early embryo;
• apply how these phenomena learned in this module may be used in vitro.
  

Core Concepts

1. Early development: fertilization, totipotency, and pluripotency 
2. Gastrulation and lineage commitment in the early embryo 
3. Mechanisms of cell fate determination in vivo
4. Specification and development of primordial germ cells 

This module is part of the ISSCR's Core Concepts in Stem Cell Biology: Syllabus and Learning Guide. To access the experiments, theories, and primary and secondary literature that support each of these concepts, download the complete resource by using the form on the right-hand side of this webpage.