Developmental biology

摘要

The earliest studies of the developing embryo, such as those carried out by Aristotle and Fabricius, used no tools except the human eye [8]. Then about 350 years ago, the newly-invented compound microscope was used to examine biological material and the study of biology, including embryonic development, was revolutionized. Somewhat less than 50 years ago, the study of embryology underwent another revolution with the advent of recombinant DNA methodology and DNA sequencing. Since this time, the field of developmental biology has been at the cutting edge in application of new technologies to investigate previously unanswerable questions at the level of cellular and molecular mechanisms of embryo-genesis. In this volume we will explore twelve different applications of current methodology to study specific aspects of embryonic development. The focus is broadly on application of techniques to non-mammalian model systems. When compared to mammalian models these alternative systems offer reduced expense, generally superior access to the developing embryo for manipulation and visualization and also the ability to collect much greater amounts of embryonic tissue, particularly at early developmental stages.