Table of Contents

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


Further reading, 360


NV Growth, aging and cancer, 362


Growth: control of size and proportion, 362


Aging, 371


Cancer, 374


Further reading, 382


OM Regeneration of missing parts, 384


Distribution of regenerative capacity, 384


Planarian regeneration, 385


Insect limb regeneration, 388


Vertebrate limb regeneration, 390


General properties of regeneration, 399


Further reading, 400


ON Applications of pluripotent stem cells, 401


Cell transplantation therapy, 401


Embryonic stem cells, 403


Personalized pluripotent stem cells, 406


Proposed cell transplantation therapies using pluripotent stem cells, 411


Further reading, 417


OO Evolution and development, 419


Macroevolution, 420


The primordial animal, 424


What really happened in evolution?, 429


Further reading, 438


Appendix: Key molecular components, 440


Genes, 440


Transcription factor families, 442


Signaling systems, 443


Inducing factor families, 445


Cytoskeleton, 449


Cell adhesion molecules, 451


Extracellular matrix components, 452


Further Reading, 452


Glossary, 454


Index, 467

About the Author

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.