Key Experiments in Practical Developmental Biology

About this book

Originally published in 2005, this unique resource presents 27 easy-to-follow laboratory exercises for use in student practical classes in developmental biology. These experiments provide key insights into developmental questions, and many of them are described by the leaders in the field who carried out the original research. This book intends to bridge the gap between experimental work and the laboratory classes taken at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. All chapters follow the same format, taking the students from materials and methods, through results and discussion, so that they learn the underlying rationale and analysis employed in the research. The book will be an invaluable resource for graduate students and instructors teaching practical developmental biology courses. Chapters include teaching concepts, discussion of the degree of difficulty of each experiment, potential sources of failure, as well as the time required for each experiment to be carried out in a class with students.

Contents

List of contributors; Preface Manuel Mari; Introduction Jennifer Knight; Part I. Graftings: 1. Two developmental gradients control head formation in hydra H. R. Bode; 2. Embryonic regulation and induction in sea urchin development C. A. Ettensohn; 3. The isthmic organizer and brain regionalization in chick embryos D. Echevaarria and S. Martinez; Part II. Specific Chemical Reagents: 4. Chemotaxis of aggregating Dictyostelium cells G. Gerisch and M. Ecke; 5. Inhibition of signal transduction pathways prevents head regeneration in hydra L. M. Salgado; 6. Retinoic acid during limb regeneration M. Maden; Part III. Beads Implantation: 7. Experimental techniques in avian embryos Y. Ganan, J. Rodriguez-Leon and D. Macias; 8. Induction of ectopic limb outgrowth in chick with FGF-8 A. Raya, C. Rodriguez Esteban and J. C. Izpisua-Belmonte; Part IV. Nucleic Acid Injections: 9. RNAi techniques applied to freshwater planarians (Platyhelminthes) during regeneration D. Bueno, R. Romero and E. Salo; 10. Microinjection of Xenopus embryos R. J. Garriock and P. A. Krieg; Part V. Genetic Analysis: 11. Segmental specification in Drosophila melanogaster L. De Navas, M. Suzanne, D. Foronda and E. Sanchez-Herrero; 12. Genetic analysis of flower development in Arabidopsis thaliana: the ABC model of floral organ identity determination J. L. Riechmann; 13. Genetic analysis of vulva development in C. elegans S. Canevascini; Part VI. Clonal Analysis: 14. The role of the gene apterous in the development of the Drosophila wing F. J. Diaz-Benjumea; 15. Extramacrochaetae, an example of a gene required for control of limb size and cell differentiation during wing morphogenesis in Drosophila A. Baonza; 16. Hedgehog transduction pathway is involved in pattern formation in Drosophila melanogaster tergites M. Mari-Beffa; Part VII. In situ Hybridization: 17. Retinoic acid signalling controls anteroposterior patterning of the zebrafish hindbrain G. Begemann; 18. Left-right asymmetry in the mouse M. Blum, A. Schweickert and C. Karcher; Part VIII. Transgenic Organisms: 19. Bicoid and Dorsal: two transcriptions factor gradients which specify cell fates in the early Drosophila embryo S. Roth; 20. Significance of the temporal modulation of Hox gene expression on segment morphology J. Castelli-Gair Hombria; 21. The UAS/GAL4 system for tissue-specific analysis of EGFR gene function in Drosophila melanogaster J. B. Duffy and N. Perrimon; 22. Neurogenesis in Drosophila: a genetic approach C. Klambt and H. Vaessin; 23. Role of the achaete-scute complex genes in the development of the adult peripheral nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster S. Sotillos and S. Campuzano; Part IX. Vertebrate Cloning: 24. The conservation of the genome and nuclear reprogramming in Xenopus J. B. Gurdon; Part X. Cell Culture: 25. In vitro culture and differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells A. Rolletschek, C. Wiese and A. M. Wobus; Part XI. Evo-Devo Studies: 26. Microevolution between Drosophila species N. Skaer and P. Simpson; Part XII. Computational Modelling: 27. Theories as a tool to understand the complex network of molecular interactions M. Meinhardt; Appendices; Index.

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Biography

Manuel Mari-Beffa is a Lecturer in Developmental Biology at the University of Malaga. Jennifer Knight is an Instructor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.