One of the striking findings of modern developmental biology has been the high degree of conservation of signaling and developmental mechanisms amongst different animal species. Such conservation allows information learned from a given organism to be applicable to other species, including humans, and has validated the use of a few model systems to deduce general biological principles.
In spite of this underlying conservation, however, each species has unique characteristics arising from its evolutionary history. Vertebrate Embryogenesis attempts to address the increasingly important need of straddling species boundaries in the context of a single research program by compiling research protocols used in a wide range of vertebrate species. In fact, Vertebrate Embryogenesis has been designed so that readers can readily find information on species other than the one with which they may be most familiar.
These protocols include not only embryological methods, but also cellular and genetic approaches that have complemented and expanded our understanding of embryonic development. In addition, a number of chapters in Vertebrate Embryogenesis highlight a specific method that is in principle applicable to multiple species, such as TILLING and ZFN-mediated mutagenesis, the generation of Embryonic Stem (ES) cell lines, and nuclear/oocyte transfer.
Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters contain introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and accessible, Vertebrate EmbryogenesisEmbryological, Cellular and Genetic Methods serves as an ideal guide to the molecular, cell, and developmental biology community and will hopefully contribute to the ongoing collective effort towards a better understanding of the beauty and logic of vertebrate development.
1. Approaches and Species in the History of Vertebrate Embryology Nick Hopwood
2. Manipulating and Imaging the Early Xenopus laevis Embryo Michael V. Danilchik
3. Manipulation of Gene Function in Xenopus laevis Mizuho S. Mimoto and Jan L. Christian
4. Developmental Genetics in Xenopus tropicalis Timoty J. Geach and Lyle B. Zimmerman
5. Embryological and Genetic Manipulation of Chick Development Laura S. Gammill and Catherine E. Krull
6. Embryological Manipulations in Zebrafish Yuhua Sun, Dorota Wloga, and Scott T. Dougan
7. Practical Approaches for Implementing Forward Genetic Strategies in Zebrafish Sreelaja Nair and Francisco Pelegri
8. Essential Techniques for Introducing Medaka to a Zebrafish Laboratory - Toward the Combined Use of Medaka and Zebrafish for Further Genetic Dissection of the Function of the Vertebrate Genome Sean R. Porazinski, Huijia Wang, and Makoto Furutani-Seiki
9. Ex-utero Culture and Imaging of Mouse Embryos Anna Piliszek, Gloria S. Kwon, and Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis
10. Detection of Gene Expression in Mouse Embryos and Tissue Sections Edwina McGlinn and Jennifer H. Mansfield
11. Gene Targeting in the Mouse Anne E. Griep, Manorama C. John, Sakae Ikeda, and Akihiro Ikeda
12. Creating a "Hopeful Monster": Mouse Forward Genetic Screens Vanessa L. Horner and Tamara Caspary
13. Assisted Reproductive Technology in Nonhuman Primates Tien-cheng Chang and Anthony W.S. Chan
14. Embryological Methods in Ascidians: the Villefranche-sur-Mer Protocols Christian Sardet, Alex McDougall, Hitoyoshi Yasuo, Janet Chenevert, Gerard Pruliere, Remi Dumollard, Clare Hudson, Celine Hebras, Ngan Le Nguyen and Alexandre Paix
15. Ciona Genetics Michael T. Veeman, Shota Chiba and William C. Smith
16. Analyses of Gene Function in Amphioxus Embryos by Microinjection of mRNAs and Morpholino-oligonucleotides Linda Z. Holland and Takayuki Onai
17. Reptile Embryology Matthew K. Vickaryous and Katherine E. McLean
18. Reproductive and Developmental Manipulation of the Marsupial, the Tammar Wallaby Macropus eugenii Marylin B. Renfree and Andrew J. Pask
19. Mutant Generation in Vertebrate Model Organisms by TILLING Sylke Winkler, Nicola Gscheidel, and Michael Brand
20. Inducing High Rates of Targeted Mutagenesis in Zebrafish using Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs) Jasmine M. McCammon, Yannick Doyon, and Sharon L. Amacher
21. Derivation of Mouse Embryonic Stem Cell Lines from Blastocysts Produced by Fertilization and Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Zhongde Wang
22. Cloning Mice and ES Cells by Nuclear Transfer from Somatic Cells and Fully Differentiated Cells Zhongde Wang
23. Keeping Two Animal Systems in One Lab: A Frog Plus Fish Case Study Hazel Sive
24. Laboratory Guidelines for Animal Care Marcelo Cuoto