Karen Armstrong-Malatesta DUE 9551624 Princeton University FY1995 $ Princeton, NJ 8544 ILI - Instrumentation Project: Life Sciences Title: Instrumentation for Modern Developmental Biology Laboratories A cell and developmental biology laboratory unit is being developed for two introductory courses in cell, developmental and molecular biology. This laboratory unit includes a series of intellectually cohesive exercises based on the biology of the developing sea urchin embryo. Designing the unit this way enables the inclusion of more sophisticated techniques and more in-depth data analysis than is possible if the laboratory exercises are unrelated to each other. Students perform experiments to determine the kinetics of larval alkaline phosphatase, investigate the tissue distribution and temporal restriction of ectodermal, mesodermal and endodermal antigens, and determine if perturbing development affects expression of these same antigens. The methods that students use to answer these questions include protein isolation, a colorimetric assay for enzyme activity, whole-mount immunocytochemistry, fluorescence microscopy, blastomere separation and culture, and an ELISA assay. Upon development and refinement of this laboratory unit the two PIs will publish the laboratory manual for distribution outside Princeton University.
