An Introductory Note on Animal Developmental

Biology for CSIR-NET Exam

CSIR-JRF-NET is undoubtedly one of the best exams you have in life sciences in India. It is
often believed that it is one of the toughest exams due to the dynamic nature of the question
pattern. But like the saying ‘’when the going gets tough, the tough gets going’’, and you are
here for that.

In this post of mine and in the following posts, we will be looking into how to cope up with
some of the interesting yet favourite topic of CSIR Life sciences exam- Developmental
Biology. Yes, Developmental Biology is a subject which is not only very interesting (of course,
as it talks about how we develop) but also a lot of questions are asked from this topic which
are very easy to answer if one is thorough with this topic. So all you have to do is put in some
of your efforts!
What is developmental biology?
The study of how an egg becomes an adult organism: the process by which new members of
a species are generated.

(Image Credit: Developmental Biology, 10th ed. Scott F. Gilbert)

Types of questions developmental biology seeks to

answer
How do cells arising from a fertilized egg become different from one another?
DIFFERENTIATION
How do cells become organized into complex structures such as limbs? PATTERNING and
MORPHOGENESIS
What controls the behavior of individual cells such that these highly organized patterns
emerge? PATTERNING and MORPHOGENESIS
How are the organizing principles of development embedded within the egg, and within the
DNA? DIFFERENTIAL GENE EXPRESSION
How have changes in developmental program, and more specifically, changes in gene
expression, led to the evolution of the great diversity of animal forms? EVO-DEVLOPMENT
Why study development?
Many disciplines can be applied and integrated into the field of development

Before starting with the topics of Developmental Biology, I am going to provide you a list of
important topics from which questions are asked in CSIR most of the times
List of Important Topics
1) Gametogenesis
2) Interaction of Sperm and Egg cell in both Invertebrates and Vertebrates (Part C questions)
3) Capacitation and Prevention of Polyspermy: Fast Block and Slow Block (Part C questions)
4) Cleavage, Types of Cleavage in different types of eggs (Part B + C questions)
5) Cleavage in Sea Urchin + Fate Map, C. elegans + Axis Determination, Drosophila,
Amphibians, Fishes, Birds and Mammals (Part B questions)
6) Gastrulation, Types of Movements in Gastrulation (Part C questions)
7) Gastrulation in Drosophila and Xenopus; Axis determination (Both are very important
topics as many Part C as well as Part B questions are asked from this section)
8) Gastrulation in Mammals (Special emphasis to various developmental genes involved)
9) Vulva Development in C.elegans, Eye Lens Development, Limb Development (Part C
questions)
10) Sex Determination in Drosophila (Part C question)
11) Metamorphosis and Regeneration