Developmental Biology Protocols

"We live in a time of rising expectations. Being a developmental biologist at the turn of the millenium demands expertise in embryological manipulation, viral gene expression, in situ hybridization, videomicroscopy, in vitro assays, transgenic embryo production, cell lineage analysis, PCR techniques, and computer-enhanced imaging technology. Rocky Tuan and Cecilia Lo have done the field (and each scientist within it) a wonderful service by collecting and editing the protocols of the masters of each echnique. More than 100 papers spanning these areas (and more) patiently lead one through each method, giving details on what brand of microscope slides to use, what centrifuge tubes work best, and where to purchase each piece of equipment. Copious notes provide details based on the laboratories' experiences of what works and what doesn't. Developmental Biology Protocols is a library in itself and will be essential for every laboratory of developmental biology. This is the collection to get before your next grant application is due."-Scott Gilbert, Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA "The range of techniques, from viral vectors to imaging, and of organisms, from sea urchins to mammals, is comprehensive yet focused. This work should be an invaluable aid to those interested in all aspects of comparative development. This work is logically organized and presents a great opportunity for not only picking up a technique but also placing it in a logical context. Well done!" -Barbara B. Knowles, Director of Research, Jackson Labs, Bar Harbor, ME "Among similar laboratory manuals Developmental Biology Protocols edited by Tuan and Lo impress by their breadth of coverage, timeliness, and scrupulous attention to detail. . .these protocols will be an invaluable aid to every geneticist and developmental biologist."-Davor Solter, Director of Developmental Biology, Max-Planck Institute, Freiburg, Germany

Developmental Biology Protocols.- Systems: Production, Culture, and Storage.- Rearing Larvae of Sea Urchins and Sea Stars for Developmental Studies.- Large-Scale Culture and Preparation of Sea Urchin Embryos for Isolation of Transcriptional Regulatory Proteins.- The Chick Embryo as a Model System for Analyzing Mechanisms of Development.- Culture of Avian Embryos.- Exo Ovo Culture of Avian Embryos.- Culture of Preimplantation Mouse Embryos.- In Vitro Culture of Rodent Embryos During the Early Postimplantation Period.- Cryopreservation of Mouse Embryos.- Developmental Pattern and Morphogenesis.- Studying Head and Brain Development in Drosophila.- Bioassays of Inductive Interactions in Amphibian Development.- Gastrulation and Early Mesodermal Patterning in Vertebrates.- Craniofacial Development of Avian and Rodent Embryos.- Examination of the Axial Skeleton of Fetal Rodents.- Cardiac Morphogenesis and Dysmorphogenesis.- Embryo Structure and Function.- Application of Plastic Embedding for Sectioning Whole-Mount Immunostained Early Vertebrate Embryos.- Confocal Microscopy of Live Xenopus Oocytes, Eggs, and Embryos.- Whole-Mount Immunolabeling of Embryos by Microinjection.- Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy Morphology and Apoptosis in Organogenesis-Stage Mouse Embryos.- Embryo/Fetal Topographical Analysis by Fluorescence Microscopy and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy.- Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analysis of Embryos.- Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging in Developmental Biology.- Ultrasound Backscatter Microscopy of Mouse Embryos.- Use of Doppler Echocardiography to Monitor Embryonic Mouse Heart Function.- Calcium Imaging in Cell-Cell Signaling.- Acquisition, Display, and Analysis of Digital Three-Dimensional Time-Lapse (Four-Dimensional) Data Sets Using Free Software Applications.- Cell Lineage Analysis.- Cell Lineage Analysis.- Cell Lineage Analysis.- Retroviral Cell Lineage Analysis in the Developing Chick Heart.- Dynamic Labeling Techniques for Fate Mapping, Testing Cell Commitment, and Following Living Cells in Avian Embryos.- Cell Lineage Analysis.- Cell Lineage Analysis in Xenopus Embryos.- Photoactivatable (Caged) Fluorescein as a Cell Tracer for Fate Mapping in the Zebrafish Embryo.- Carboxyfluorescein as a Marker at Both Light and Electron Microscope Levels to Follow Cell Lineage in the Embryo.- Chimeras.- Transplantation Chimeras.- Interspecific Chimeras in Avian Embryos.- Quail-Chick Transplantation in the Embryonic Limb Bud.- Mouse Chimeras and the Analysis of Development.- Cell Grafting and Fate Mapping of the Early-Somite-Stage Mouse Embryo.- Interspecific Chimeras.- Interspecific Mouse-Chick Chimeras.- Mosaic Analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans.- Experimental Manipulation of Embryos.- Local Application of Bone Morphogenic Protein on Developing Chick Embryos Using a Fibrous Glass Matrix as a Carrier.- Laser Ablation and Fate Mapping.- Photoablation of Cells Expressing ?-Galactosidase.- Exo utero Surgery.- Application of Viral Vectors in the Analysis of Development.- Methods for Constructing and Producing Retroviral Vectors.- Retroviral Gene Transduction in Limb Bud Micromass Cultures.- Construction of Adenoviral Vectors.- Application of Adenoviral Vectors.- The Application of Adenoviral Vectors in the Study of Mammalian Cardiovascular Development.