Essential Developmental Biology

PROFESSOR JONATHAN SLACK has worked in London, Oxford and Bath and is currently Director of the Stem Cell Institute at the University of Minnesota, USA. He is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He has published numerous research papers on developmental biology as well as three other books, of which the most recent is Stem Cells: A Very Short Introduction.

Preface, ix About the companion website, xii Section N: Groundwork, 1 N The excitement of developmental biology, 3 Where the subject came from, 3 Impact of developmental biology, 4 Future impact, 4 Further reading, 5 O How development works, 7 Ultrashort summary, 7 Gametogenesis, 10 Early development, 12 Morphogenetic processes, 19 Growth and death, 23 Further reading, 25 P Approaches to development: developmental genetics, 27 Developmental mutants, 27 Sex chromosomes, 29 Maternal and zygotic, 29 Genetic pathways, 29 Genetic mosaics, 32 Screening for mutants, 33 Cloning of genes, 34 Gain- and loss-of-function experiments, 34 Gene duplication, 38 Limitations of developmental genetics, 39 Further reading, 40 Q Approaches to development: experimental embryology, 42 Normal development, 42 Developmental commitment, 45 Criteria for proof, 51 Further reading, 52 R Approaches to development: cell and molecular biology techniques, 54 Microscopy, 54 Study of gene expression by molecular biology methods, 58 Study of gene expression by in situ methods, 61 Microinjection, 65 Cell-labeling methods, 66 Further reading, 68 Section O: Major model organisms, 71 S Model organisms, 73 The big six, 73 Access and micromanipulation, 75 Genetics and genome maps, 75 Relevance and tempo, 76 Other organisms, 76 Further reading, 78 T Xenopus, 80 Oogenesis, maturation, and fertilization, 80 Normal development, 82 Experimental methods, 87 Processes of regional specification, 92 Inductive interactions, 95 Further reading, 104 U The zebrafish, 106 Normal development, 106 Genetics, 110 Embryological and molecular techniques, 114 Regional specification, 115 Other uses for the zebrafish, 118 Further reading, 120 V The chick, 121 Normal development, 122 Regional specifi cation of the early embryo, 127 Description of organogenesis in the chick, 133 Further reading, 140 NM The mouse, 141 Mammalian fertilization, 141 Normal development, 145 Regional specifi cation, 153 Human early development, 158 Mouse developmental genetics, 159 Other topics in mouse development, 164 Further reading, 169 NN Drosophila, 171 Insects, 171 Normal development, 173 Drosophila developmental genetics, 178 The developmental program, 181 Further reading, 197 NO Caenorhabditis elegans, 198 Adult anatomy, 198 Embryonic development, 200 Analysis of postembryonic development, 208 Further reading, 215 Section 3: Organogenesis, 217 NP Techniques for studying organogenesis and postnatal development, 219 Genetics, 219 Clonal analysis, 223 Tissue and organ culture, 226 Cell separation methods, 228 Further reading, 230 NQ Development of the nervous system, 231 Overall structure and cell types, 231 Anteroposterior patterning of the neural plate, 234 Dorsoventral patterning of the neural tube, 238 Neurogenesis and gliogenesis, 240 The neural crest, 246 Development of neuronal connectivity, 250 Further reading, 257 NR Development of mesodermal organs, 259 Somitogenesis and myogenesis, 259 The kidney, 266 Germ cell and gonadal development, 269 Limb development, 274 Blood and blood vessels, 284 The heart, 287 Further reading, 293 NS Development of endodermal organs, 296 Normal development, 296 Experimental analysis of endoderm development, 301 The pancreas, 307 Further reading, 312 NT Drosophila imaginal discs, 314 Metamorphosis, 314 Disc development, 318 Further reading, 328 Section Q: Growth, regeneration, evolution, 331 NU Tissue organization and stem cells, 333 Types of tissue, 333 Tissue renewal, 336 Stem cells, 339 Furth