Mammalian Development

"A subject collection from Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology."

"This book aims to provide a survey of the developmental biology of mammals--Pref.

The book considers signaling events from the zygote embryo through to the blastocyst with relevant data from embryonic stem (ES) cells, including dialogue with the extracellular environment and with the maternal tract during the implantation process. Application of the knowledge described to improve the success of human and animal assisted conception is considered where appropriate, but the focus is largely on fundamental rather than applied cell/molecular biology, as this is the area that has historically been neglected. While the general features of metabolism during preimplantation development are well established, especially in terms of nutrient requirements, uptake and fate, remarkably little is known about early embryo signaling events, intracellular or intercellular, between individual embryos in vitro or with the female reproductive tract in vivo. This contrasts with the wealth of information on cell signaling in somatic cells and tissues, as a glance at any textbook of biochemistry illustrates. This lack of information is such that our understanding of the molecular cell biology of early embryos -- a prerequisite to defining the mechanisms which regulate development at this critical stage of the life cycle -- is seriously incomplete. This volume is the first to address this issue by describing the current state of knowledge on cell signaling during mammalian early embryo development and highlighting priority areas for research.

Developmental biology has been transformed recently by discoveries in the fields of molecular biology, cell biology, and immunology. New ways of manip ulating mammalian development are uncovering control mechanisms and ena bling us to apply them in solving practical problems in animal production and human health. This book outlines some of these new manipulations and how they have contributed to the present state of developmental biology. Chapter 1 describes gene transfer by micro injection of cloned recombinant DNA into zygotes. Although the factors that affect transformation frequencies and integration sites are still unknown, such techniques offer a number of exciting prospects. Research models for human disease coula be artificially created and desirable characteristics in agricultural animals could be - hanced. . The theme of cell-to-cell transfer is continued in Chapters 2 and 3. Chapter 2 describes pronuclear transplantation by Sendai virus-induced fusion of the karyoplast with the enucleated embryo. Using this procedure, it has been dem onstrated that both male and female genomes are essential for normal develop ment, although the reason for this is not yet understood. Chapter 3 describes studies on the fusion of whole oocytes. .

Cell Fate in Mammalian Development, Volume 128, the latest release in the Current Topics in Developmental Biology series, provides reviews on cell fate in mammalian development. Each chapter is written by an international board of authors, with this release including sections on the Specification of extra-embryonic lineages during mouse pre-implantation development, Cell polarity and fate specification, The circuitry that drives trophectoderm identity, Breaking symmetry and the dynamics of transcription factors directing cell fate specification, Mechanics and cell fate, How physical properties of cells change in development and their effect on cell fate decisions, and more. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Includes new sections on the specification of extra-embryonic lineages during mouse pre-implantation development, cell polarity and fate specification, the circuitry that drives trophectoderm identity, and more Presents the latest release in the Current Topics in Developmental Biology series

Denis Noble Nearly a decade after completion of the first draft of the entire Human Genome sequence we are in a better position to assess the nature and the consequences of that heroic achievement, which can be seen as the culmination of the molecular biological revolution of the second half of the twentieth century. The achievement itself was celebrated at the highest levels (President and Prime Minister) on both sides of the Atlantic, and rightly so. DNA sequencing has become sufficiently c- mon now, even to the extent of being used in law courts, that it is easy to forget how technically difficult it was and how cleverly the sequencing teams solved those problems in the exciting race to finish by the turn of the century [1, 2]. The fanfares were misplaced, however, in an important respect. The metaphors used to describe the project and its biological significance gave the impression to the public at large, and to many scientists themselves, that this sequence would reveal the secrets of life. DNA had already been likened to a computer program [3]. The “genetic program” for life was therefore to be found in those sequences: A kind of map that had simply to be unfolded during development. The even more colo- ful “book of life” metaphor gave the promise that reading that book would lead to a veritable outpouring of new cures for diseases, hundreds of new drug targets, and a brave new world of medicine.