The Cellular and Molecular Biology of Pattern Formation

The mechanisms that control region-specific and axial patterning of cell differentiation during embryogenesis have fascinated experimental biologists for over 100 years. This book describes recent advances in our knowledge of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of pattern formation. The book describes research on the two main conceptual frameworks within which patterning is currently analysed: positional information and induction. The developmental time frame covered extends from the oocyte to developing organ systems, and a wide range of research organisms, from hydrozoans to birds, is represented.

Gary Freeman: The establishment and role of polarity during embryogenesis in hydrozoans; Kathryn V. Anderson, Carl Hashimoto, Kathy Hudson, Rebecca Chasan, Yishi Jin, & Suzanne Gerttula: Maternal control of embryonic dorsal-central pattern in Drosophila; Daniel L. Weeks: Possible roles of localized maternal mRNAs in the development of Xenopus laevis; Timothy L. Karr: Pattern formation and zygotic gene action in Drosophila ; David R. McClay, Mark C. Alliegro, & Jeffrey D. Hardin: Cell interactions as epigenetic signals in morphogenesis of the sea urchin embryo; Marianne Bronner-Fraser: Environmental influences on neural crest migration; Christina Thaller & Gregor Eichele: Towards a molecular understanding of vertebrae limb morphogenesis: retinoids and the specification of the anteroposterior limb pattern in the chick embryo; Chris R. Kintner & Jane Dixon: Gene expression and function during neurogenesis in amphibian embryos; Cathy J. Weeden, David J. Price, & David A. Weisblat: Analysis of the life cycle, genome, and homeo box genes of the leech, Helobdella triserialis ; John Panitz: Scanning tunnelling microscopy: status and prospects for imaging biological structure on an angstrom scale; David L. Stocum & Timothy L. Karr: Synopsis.