Early Animal Development From Fertilization To Gastrulation

Concepts of Biology is designed for the single-semester introduction to biology course for non-science majors, which for many students is their only college-level science course. As such, this course represents an important opportunity for students to develop the necessary knowledge, tools, and skills to make informed decisions as they continue with their lives. Rather than being mired down with facts and vocabulary, the typical non-science major student needs information presented in a way that is easy to read and understand. Even more importantly, the content should be meaningful. Students do much better when they understand why biology is relevant to their everyday lives. For these reasons, Concepts of Biology is grounded on an evolutionary basis and includes exciting features that highlight careers in the biological sciences and everyday applications of the concepts at hand.We also strive to show the interconnectedness of topics within this extremely broad discipline. In order to meet the needs of today's instructors and students, we maintain the overall organization and coverage found in most syllabi for this course. A strength of Concepts of Biology is that instructors can customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom. Concepts of Biology also includes an innovative art program that incorporates critical thinking and clicker questions to help students understand--and apply--key concepts.

Living Embryos: An Introduction to the Study of Animal Development covers the growth of an animal embryo, specifically the sequence developmental events of an egg. This book addresses the mammalian embryo as a homograph and demonstrates early vertebrate development mechanisms. Some of the topics covered in the book are the early embryology, development, and growth of the frog, mammals, chick, rabbit, arthropods, polychaetes, nematodes, molluscs, and tunicates. Other chapters deal with the formation of the nervous, muscular, and alimentary systems. These topics are followed by the analysis of the development of fishes. The discussion then shifts to the method of fertilization. The last chapters examine the formation of cleavage, cleavage geometry, embryonic membranes, and organization of the egg. The book can provide useful information to embryologists, biologists, students, and researchers.

Eggs of all animals contain mRNAs and proteins that are supplied to or deposited in the egg as it develops during oogenesis. These maternal gene products regulate all aspects of oocyte development, and an embryo fully relies on these maternal gene products for all aspects of its early development, including fertilization, transitions between meiotic and mitotic cell cycles, and activation of its own genome. Given the diverse processes required to produce a developmentally competent egg and embryo, it is not surprising that maternal gene products are not only essential for normal embryonic development but also for fertility. This review provides an overview of fundamental aspects of oocyte and early embryonic development and the interference and genetic approaches that have provided access to maternally regulated aspects of vertebrate development. Some of the pathways and molecules highlighted in this review, in particular, Bmps, Wnts, small GTPases, cytoskeletal components, and cell cycle regulators, are well known and are essential regulators of multiple aspects of animal development, including oogenesis, early embryogenesis, organogenesis, and reproductive fitness of the adult animal. Specific examples of developmental processes under maternal control and the essential proteins will be explored in each chapter, and where known conserved aspects or divergent roles for these maternal regulators of early vertebrate development will be discussed throughout this review. Table of Contents: Introduction / Oogenesis: From Germline Stem Cells to Germline Cysts / Oocyte Polarity and the Embryonic Axes: The Balbiani Body, an Ancient Oocyte Asymmetry / Preparing Developmentally Competent Eggs / Egg Activation / Blocking Polyspermy / Cleavage/ Mitosis: Going Multicellular / Maternal-Zygotic Transition / Reprogramming: Epigenetic Modifications and Zygotic Genome Activation / Dorsal-Ventral Axis Formation before Zygotic Genome Activation in Zebrafish and Frogs / Maternal TGF-β and the Dorsal-Ventral Embryonic Axis / Maternal Control After Zygotic Genome Activation / Compensation by Stable Maternal Proteins / Maternal Contributions to Germline Establishment or Maintenance / Perspective / Acknowledgments / References

This book vividly describes how complex and integrated movements can arise from the properties and behaviors of biological molecules. It provides a uniquely integrated account in which the latest findings from biophysics and molecular biology are put into the context of living cells. This second edition is updated throughout with recent advances in the field and has a completely revised and redrawn art program. The text is suitable for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and for professionals wishing for an overview of this field.

Living Embryos: An Introduction to the Study of Animal Development, Revised Second Edition presents the processes of development as seen throughout the animal kingdom. This book discusses the development of the organ systems of vertebrates. Comprised of 41 chapters, this edition starts with an overview of the history of the study of embryology, which is concerned with the process by which the adult arises from the fertilized egg. This text then discusses the role of the sperm in the determination of bilateral symmetry. Other chapters consider the development of the frog in order to give a basis for comparison with other species. This book discusses as well the structure of the hen's egg and illustrates the various stages of the development of the chick. The final chapter deals with animal evolution, which produces a wide variety of animal forms. Embryologists, zoologists, medical students, graduate students, university lecturers, and teachers will find this book extremely useful.