This book fills the strong current interest in looking at simpler genomic systems to understand vertebrate systems biology. With the increase in Ascidian labs and the explosion in developmental biology generally, the demand for a book written by the leading expert in Ascidians was clear. The main theme of this book is discussion of the genomic regulatory networks and functional networks in ascidian development.
1. Introduction. 2. Embryological development. 3. Genes and genomics. 4. Research tools. 5. Genetic regulatory networks and functional networks in ascidian development. 6. Optional topics: Future studies, nervous system and behavior, using the accompanying genome sequence information. 7. References
As the reviews indicate, Nori Satoh is the foremost authority on Ascidians. Known as the father of the field, he is a professor at Kyoto University and has co-authored a number of breakthrough papers with the world's biggest names in developmental biology.