Essays on Developmental Biology Part A

1st Edition, Volume 116 - March 9, 2016
Editor: Paul Wassarman
Language: English
Hardback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 0 2 9 5 6 - 5
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 1 2 - 8 0 2 9 7 6 - 3

In 2016 Current Topics in Developmental Biology (CTDB) will celebrate its 50th or “golden” anniversary. To commemorate the founding of CTDB by Aron Moscona (1921-2009) and Alberto… Read more

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In 2016 Current Topics in Developmental Biology (CTDB) will celebrate its 50th or “golden” anniversary. To commemorate the founding of CTDB by Aron Moscona (1921-2009) and Alberto Monroy (1913-1986) in 1966, a two-volume set of CTDB (volumes 116 and 117), entitled Essays on Development, will be published by Academic Press/Elsevier in early 2016. The volumes are edited by Paul M. Wassarman, series editor of CTDB, and include contributions from dozens of outstanding developmental biologists from around the world. Overall, the essays provide critical reviews and discussion of developmental processes for a variety of model organisms. Many essays relate the history of a particular area of research, others personal experiences in research, and some are quite philosophical. Essays on Development provides a window onto the rich landscape of contemporary research in developmental biology and should be useful to both students and investigators for years to come.

Preface
- Essays on Developmental Biology-2016
Chapter One: Seeing is Believing, or How GFP Changed My Approach to Science
- Abstract
- 1 From Fly Mutants to Developmental Control Genes
- 2 From Mutants to Cell Behavior
- 3 From Flies to Fish
- 4 From GFP to GFP Binders
- 5 The Crispr Revolution or Bringing It All Together
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Two: The Notch-Mediated Proliferation Circuitry
- Abstract
- 1 Notch Can Have Opposing Effects on Proliferation
- 2 Notch Affects Proliferation in Both Cell-Autonomous and Non-Cell-Autonomous Manners
- 3 Notch and Proliferation in Oncogenesis
- 4 Proliferative Effects of Notch in Stem Cells
- 5 Notch Synergies in Proliferation
- 6 A Notch–JNK Signaling Axis Couples Proliferation and Invasiveness
- 7 Notch Synergies in Oncogenesis: A Hypothesis
Chapter Three: Defining the Path from Stem Cells to Differentiated Tissue
- Abstract
Chapter Four: Neuregulin/ErbB Signaling in Developmental Myelin Formation and Nerve Repair
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Schwann Cell Precursors
- 3 Entry into the Myelination Program
- 4 Nrg1 and Other Extrinsic Signals that Control Myelination
- 5 Proteolytic Processing is Rate Limiting for Nrg1 Activity and Function
- 6 Rates of Protein Synthesis Control the End of Myelination and Myelin Thickness
- 7 Nrg1 and Remyelination After Injury
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Five: Oocyte Meiotic Spindle Assembly and Function
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Maintain Parity or Pare Down: Mitotic Versus Meiotic Cell Division
- 3 Centrosomes: The Stars of Mitotic Spindle Poles
- 4 The Curious Structure of (Some) Oocyte Meiotic Spindles: Acentriolar Poles
- 5 The Curious Structure of Oocyte Meiotic Spindles, Part 2: Tiled Microtubules
- 6 Acentriolar Oocyte Meiotic Spindle Assembly: Microtubule Origins
- 7 Acentriolar Oocyte Meiotic Spindle Assembly, Part 2: Pole Composition
- 8 Acentriolar Oocyte Meiotic Spindle Assembly, Part 3: Pole Assembly
- 9 Kinetochore Function and Pole Coalescence
- 10 A Pushy View of Kinetochore Function and Chromosome Dynamics During Oocyte Meiosis
- 11 An Alternative Model for Chromosome Movements in C. elegans Oocytes: Sides Matter
- 12 Advancing Our Understanding of Oocyte Meiotic Spindle Assembly: Genetics and Live Cell Imaging
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Six: Self-Organization of Spatial Patterning in Human Embryonic Stem Cells
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Self-Organization of Human Embryonic Germ Layers
- 3 Self-Organization of Neural Rosettes
- 4 Challenges and Future Directions
Chapter Seven: The Neural Crest Migrating into the Twenty-First Century
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 A Brief History
- 3 Neural Crest Migration
- 4 Gene Regulatory Network Controlling Neural Crest Formation
- 5 Differentiation of Neural Crest Cells into Multiple Lineages
- 6 Evolution of the Neural Crest
- 7 Recent Insights into Neural Crest Stem Cells in Postnatal Tissue: “Schwann Cell Precursors”
- 8 Conclusion
Chapter Eight: Tissue Differentiation: A Personal Account of Research on Myogenesis and Cardiogenesis
- Abstract
- 1 Gene Regulation During Cell Differentiation: Starting with a Thesis on Histone Modifications
- 2 Messenger RNA Populations in Differentiating Muscle Cells
- 3 Muscle Gene Expression During Myogenesis In Vivo—The Advent of Cloned Probes
- 4 Myogenic Regulatory Factors of the MyoD Family—Gene Manipulation in the Mouse
- 5 Upstream Regulators of Myogenesis: From the Myf5 Gene to Pax3
- 6 Genetic Analysis of Pax3 Function in the Mouse Embryo
- 7 Myogenic Stem Cells—Satellite Cells—and Adult Muscle Regeneration
- 8 Cardiogenesis
- 9 Muscles of the Head and Heart
- 10 Concluding Comments
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Nine: Cycling in the Cell Fate Landscape
- Abstract
- 1 Integration of Sex Determination with Cell Proliferation
- 2 First Principles
- 3 Early Views of “Competence”
- 4 Examples of “Priming” Windows in the Cell Cycle
- 5 Mixing Mechanisms
- 6 Synchronization and Community Effects
- 7 The Mechanics of Cycle Transitions: Opportunities for Change
- 8 New Tools
- 9 Summary
- Acknowledgment
Chapter Ten: Securing Neuronal Cell Fate in C. elegans
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Touch Receptor Neurons
- 3 Hox Proteins Act as Transcriptional Guarantors to Ensure Cell Fate Acquisition
- 4 Hox Proteins also Promote Neuronal Subtype Differentiation
- 5 ALR-1, a Second Guarantor in TRN Differentiation
- 6 Safeguarding MEC-3 Activity by Zinc-Finger Homeodomain Protein ZAG-1
- 7 Concluding Remarks
Chapter Eleven: Cancer in Drosophila: Imaginal Discs as a Model for Epithelial Tumor Formation
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Oncogenic Cooperation
- 3 Other Hallmarks of Cancer
- 4 Cell Competition in Cancer
- 5 Concluding Remarks
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Twelve: Genome Duplication: The Heartbeat of Developing Organisms
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The First Mitotic Cell Division Is Universal
- 3 The Second Mitotic Cell Division Distinguishes Mammals from Nonmammals
- 4 Activation of ZGE Does Not Depend on DNA Replication
- 5 Replication Origins Are Developmentally Regulated
- 6 Many Replication Origins Exist, But Few Are Activated
- 7 Both Genetic and Epigenetic Parameters Define Replication Origins
- 8 Restricting Genome Duplication to Once per Cell Division
- 9 Developmentally Programmed Polyploidy
- 10 Developmentally Programmed Gene Amplification
- 11 Evolution and Human Disease
- 12 Epilog
Chapter Thirteen: The Chordin Morphogenetic Pathway
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 A Gradient of Growth Factor Signaling
- 3 The Cloning of Chordin
- 4 Function of Tolloid, Sizzled, and Crossveinless 2
- 5 Long-Range Diffusion of Chordin in Brachet's Cleft
- 6 The Ancestral Chordin/BMP Morphogenetic Pathway
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Fourteen: From the Eye to the Brain: Development of the Drosophila Visual System
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Drosophila Visual System
- 3 Development of the Fly Visual System
- 4 General Rules of Neuronal Development
- 5 Conclusions and Perspectives
Chapter Fifteen: Zygotic Genome Activators, Developmental Timing, and Pluripotency
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Pluripotency Gene Regulatory Network: Self-Activation of Pluripotency Genes, and Lineage Priming
- 3 Maternal Period in Animal Development and Mechanisms of Zygotic Genome Activation
- 4 SoxB1, PouV Class, and Nanog Evolutionary History
- 5 Consequences of Pou5f1/3 Loss for Early Development of Vertebrate Embryos
- 6 Structure of Pou5f3-Dependent Gene Regulatory Network in Zebrafish
- 7 Models of Transcriptional Networks for Pluripotency
- 8 Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Sixteen: Topological Domains, Metagenes, and the Emergence of Pleiotropic Regulations at Hox Loci
- Abstract
- 1 The Raise of Hox Metagenes
- 2 A Genomic Synapomorphy
- 3 Regulatory Priming
- 4 So Near and Yet So Far
- 5 With a Little Help from My TAD
- 6 TAD Hijacking
- 7 Take It or Leave It
- 8 Pioneer Enhancers
- 9 Regulatory Paleontology
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Seventeen: Connectomics, the Final Frontier
- Abstract
- 1 How Does It Work? How Is It Built?
- 2 The C. elegans Male Mating Circuits—A Typical Neuropil
- 3 A Wealth of Detail and Complexity
- 4 Can Clues as to the Identity of “Individual Identification Tags” be Found in the Patterns of Connections?
- 5 Candidates for Cell Labels
- 6 Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Eighteen: Dedifferentiation, Redifferentiation, and Transdifferentiation of Striated Muscles During Regeneration and Development
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Dedifferentiating and Redifferentiating Muscles During Regeneration
- 3 Transdifferentiating Muscles Upon Muscle Fiber Explantation and During Normal Development
- 4 Conclusion
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Nineteen: Epithelial Skin Biology: Three Decades of Developmental Biology, a Hundred Questions Answered and a Thousand New Ones to Address
- Abstract
- 1 Mammalian Epidermis, Homeostasis, and Stem Cells
- 2 Mammalian Epidermal Appendages: Hair Follicles and Sweat Glands
- 3 The Hair Follicle and Its Stem Cells
- 4 Additional Lessons Learned from Studying Skin Stem Cells: Sweat Gland Stem Cells
- 5 Summary
Chapter Twenty: Differentiation in Stem Cell Lineages and in Life: Explorations in the Male Germ Line Stem Cell Lineage
- Abstract
- 1 Differentiation in Stem Cell Lineages and in Life
- 2 Differentiation in the Male Germ Line Adult Stem Cell Lineage
- 3 View from the Present
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Twenty-One: How Somatic Adult Tissues Develop Organizer Activity
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction to Organizers
- 2 Organizers in Homeostatic Adult Tissues
- 3 De Novo Formation of Organizers from Adult Somatic Tissues
- 4 Conclusions and Perspectives
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Twenty-Two: Developmental Plasticity and Developmental Symbiosis: The Return of Eco-Devo
- Abstract
- 1 Ecological Developmental Biology
- 2 The Century of the Gene: The Decline of Eco-Devo
- 3 Developmental Plasticity
- 4 Developmental Symbiosis
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Twenty-Three: Twenty Years in Maine: Integrating Insights from Developmental Biology into Translational Medicine in a Small State
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Personal Research History
- 3 Personalized and Precision Medicine (in Maine)
- 4 Use of Notch Pathway Modulators in Clinical Trials
- 5 Concluding Remarks
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Twenty-Four: Cell Fate Determination by Transcription Factors
- Abstract
- 1 Mitotic Advantage
- 2 Mode of Action of Transcription Factors
- 3 An Amphibian Oocyte as an Assay for Transcription
- 4 DNA Injection to Oocytes as an Assay for Transcription Factor Action
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Twenty-Five: Terminal Selectors of Neuronal Identity
- Abstract
- 1 Historical Background
- 2 Coregulation of Terminal Effector Genes by Terminal Selectors
- 3 Terminal Selectors Initiate and Maintain the Terminally Differentiated State
- 4 Terminal Selectors Act in Reiteratively Used Combinations
- 5 Terminal Selectors Control Regulatory Subroutines
- 6 Parallel Regulatory Routines
- 7 Diversification of Neuronal Identity via Selective Repressibility
- 8 Generality of the Terminal Selector Concept
- 9 Regulation of Terminal Selector Genes
- 10 Conclusions
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Twenty-Six: Drosophila Segment Polarity Mutants and the Rediscovery of the Hedgehog Pathway Genes
- Abstract
Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Comparative Organismal Approach in Evolutionary Developmental Biology: Insights from Ascidians and Cavefish
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Molgulid Ascidians: Evolving Different Modes of Development
- 3 Cavefish: Evolution in the Dark
- 4 Conclusions
Chapter Twenty-Eight: From Cloning Neural Development Genes to Functional Studies in Mice, 30 Years of Advancements
- Abstract
- 1 Essay
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Tales of Tails (and Trunks): Forming the Posterior Body in Vertebrate Embryos
- Abstract
- 1 Formation of the Posterior Body
- 2 Differing Morphological Features Versus a Common Mechanism
- 3 The Neuromesodermal Progenitor
- 4 Stem or Progenitor Cells?
- 5 Brachyury and the NMP Niche
- 6 Wnt Signaling and the Neuromesodermal Fate Choice
- 7 Wnt Signaling and Establishment of the NMPs
- 8 Tbx6/16 and the Acquisition of Mesodermal Fate
- 9 Mesogenin1 and Mesodermal Fate
- 10 Cdx Contributes to Posterior Development
- 11 Termination of Body Elongation
- 12 Conclusions and Future Directions
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Thirty: The Curious World of Gonadal Development in Mammals
- Abstract
- 1 During Sex Development, the Gonadal Anlagen Can Form Either of Two Completely Different Organs
- 2 The Differentiation Program of the Testis is Coordinated by One Cell Type
- 3 The Key Gene That Directs Sex Determination is Vulnerable and Feeble
- 4 The Molecular Pathways Driving Testis and Ovary Development are Mutually Antagonistic
- 5 Testis Cord Formation: A Unique Mode of Tubulogenesis
Chapter Thirty-One: The Unaimed Arrow Never Misses
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Thirty-Two: A Path to Pattern
- Abstract
- 1 Themes and Variations
- 2 Elegant Solutions
- 3 Regulation, Regulation, Regulation
- 4 Cell Talk and Cross-Talk
- 5 Is Every Cell a “Neuron”?
- 6 One Elegant Solution
- 7 Recalculating the Horizon
Chapter Thirty-Three: Gene–Environment Interactions and the Etiology of Birth Defects
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Etiology of Birth Defects
- 3 A Role for Model Systems in Understanding the Complex Etiology of Birth Defects
- 4 Potential Mechanisms of Gene–Environment Interactions
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Thirty-Four: Hox Genes and the Hindbrain: A Study in Segments
- Abstract
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Thirty-Five: C. elegans Embryonic Morphogenesis
- Abstract
- 1 Ventral Enclosure
- 2 Elongation from the Lima-Bean to the Twofold Stage
- 3 Elongation Beyond the Twofold Stage
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Thirty-Six: The Last 50 Years: Mismeasurement and Mismanagement Are Impeding Scientific Research
- Abstract
- Signs of Change?
- Acknowledgment
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Mechanochemical Interplay Drives Polarization in Cellular and Developmental Systems
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 A Common Logic for Chemical Polarization Networks
- 3 Mechanical Signals Inside and Outside Cells
- 4 External Mechanical Signals can Bias Polarity
- 5 Internal Mechanical Signals can Induce Polarity
- 6 Concluding Remarks
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Pluripotency of Neural Crest Cells and Their Role in Brain Development
- Abstract
- 1 Introduction
- 2 The Neural Crest as a Fourth Germ Layer: Evolutionary Implication
- 3 The Pluripotency and Stem Cell Properties of the Neural Crest Cells
- 4 The Cephalic Neural Crest Promotes the Development of the Preotic Brain
- 5 Concluding Remarks
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Germ Plasm Biogenesis—An Oskar-Centric Perspective
- Abstract
- 1 Genetic Analysis of Genes Required for Germ Plasm Assembly
- 2 Oocyte Specification and Dynein-Mediated RNA Transport
- 3 Oocyte Polarization and Kinesin-Mediated Transport of osk RNA Within the Oocyte
- 4 cis-Acting Sequences and RNA Transport Particles
- 5 Translational Control of osk RNA
- 6 A Noncoding RNA Function for osk
- 7 Oskar Protein Structure and Function
- 8 Assembly of Germ Plasm
- 9 Effector RNA Localization
- 10 Summary and Outlook
- Acknowledgments
Chapter Forty: Emerging Modeling Concepts and Solutions in Stem Cell Research
- Abstract
- 1 Predictive Stem Cell Biology and Quantitative Models
- 2 Network-Based and Cell-Based Models
- 3 Multiscale Models Involving Gene Networks and Cell Signaling
- 4 Deterministic Versus Stochastic Scenarios, Heterogeneity of Stem Cells
- 5 Modularity, Robustness, and Feedback Control in Pluripotency Gene Networks
- 6 Key Problems and Future Directions
Index

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Essays on Developmental Biology Part A

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Paul Wassarman