1. Be familiar with the types of characteristics that make an organism ideal for the study of developmental biology.


  1. Know the critical contributions of the sperm and the egg to the zygote.


  1. Know the mechanism of the acrosomal reaction in sea urchin sperm.  Understand its function.


  1. Know the mechanisms responsible for the fast block and slow block to polyspermy during fertilization in sea urchins.


  1. Be able to draw the first four rounds of cell division of the sea urchin embryo.  Understand how the planes of cell division relate to cell fate specification.  Be able to label macromeres, mesomeres, and micromeres and know which cell types are derived from each of these cell layers in the early embryo.


  1. Be familiar with the stages and cellular mechanisms (ingression, invagination, convergent extension) of gastrulation in the sea urchin.


  1. Understand the difference between specification and determination.  Be able to describe experiments that would help you distinguish between when a cell has become specified and when its fate has become determined.


  1. Know the difference between autonomous versus conditional modes of specification.  Be able to provide examples of each.


  1. Be able to categorize experiments (both classical and modern) into “SHOW IT”, “BLOCK IT”, AND “MOVE IT” categories.  Understand how “SHOW IT” experiments can establish correlations, whereas the other two can help establish causation.  Be able to distinguish between experiments that show necessity and those that show sufficiency.


  1. Be able to design a set of experiments that will demonstrate whether a proposed factor is both necessary and sufficient to cause a developmental event.