
Mechanisms of Morphogenesis
- 3rd Edition - June 10, 2023
- Imprint: Academic Press
- Author: Jamie A. Davies
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 9 9 9 6 5 - 6
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 9 8 5 2 8 - 4
Mechanisms of Morphogenesis, Third Edition offers a bottom-up discussion of mechanisms of cell and tissue morphogenesis in a diverse array of organisms, including prokaryot… Read more

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Request a sales quoteMechanisms of Morphogenesis, Third Edition offers a bottom-up discussion of mechanisms of cell and tissue morphogenesis in a diverse array of organisms, including prokaryotes, animals, plants and fungi. Across foundational, applied and methods-based chapters, this book examines molecular nano-machines cooperation, generate cell shape, direct cell migration, and shape, form and rates of growth of various tissues in the body. Each topic is illustrated with experimental data from real systems, with particular reference to gaps in current knowledge and likely future developments, along with strategies to apply basic morphogenesis science across ever evolving applications.
Newly added chapters feature case-study-driven discussions of morphogenesis in natural embryos and organoids, and illustrate how pathological morphogenesis can generate variants of body form. This edition has also been updated with analysis of large-scale and scale-invariant mechanisms, for example, morphogenesis by differential growth in mechanically connected tissues.
- Includes over 200 full color figures and charts
- Offers an integrated view of theoretical developmental biology and computer modeling with laboratory-based discoveries
- Includes applied, case-study-driven discussion of experimental techniques
- Is organized around principles and mechanisms, using them to integrate discoveries from a range of organisms and systems across new applications
- Covers recent developments in morphogenesis research, including morphogenesis in organoids, other engineered tissues, and an analysis of large-scale and scale-invariant mechanisms
- Cover image
- Title page
- Table of Contents
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Preface to Third Edition
- A Note on References
- Section I. Introductory Section
- Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION—THE AIMS AND STRUCTURE OF THIS BOOK
- Chapter 2. KEY PRINCIPLES OF MORPHOGENESIS
- THE IDEA OF ‘MECHANISM’
- EMERGENCE
- EMERGENCE, TRAP-DOOR PROCESSES AND THE DANGERS OF POST HOC REASONING
- FEEDBACK, SELF-ASSEMBLY AND ADAPTIVE SELF-ORGANIZATION
- QUESTIONS OF AGENCY AND PURPOSE
- Chapter 3. The Power and Limitations of Macro-Molecular Self-Assembly
- Introduction to Self-Assembly
- Self-Assembly of Bilayered Membranes
- One-Dimensional Self-Assembly: Actin
- One-Dimensional Self-Assembly: Collagen
- Three-Dimensional Self-Assembly: Simple Viruses
- Quality Control in Self-Assembling Structures
- Limitations to Self-Assembly
- Section II. Cell Shape and Cell Morphogenesis
- Chapter 4. Morphogenesis of Individual Cells: A Brief Overview
- Flattening and Elongation of Cells
- Constriction/Wedging of Cells
- Production of Cell Processes
- Cell Fusions
- Cell Cavitation
- Changes in Cell Shape Can Directly Drive Morphogenesis of Tissues
- Chapter 5. Animal Cell Shape: The Importance of the Cytoskeleton
- Tensegrity
- Building and Placement of Tensile Microfilaments
- Adaptive Self-Organization of the Micro-filament Tension System
- Assembly of the Microtubule System
- Formation of Special Structures: Actin-Based Cell Protrusions
- Formation of Special Structures: Microtubule-Based Cell Protrusions
- Summary
- Chapter 6. Cellular Morphogenesis in Plants
- Diffuse Cell Elongation in Plants
- Focussed Cell Growth: Root Hairs, Pollen Tubes and Trichomes
- Section III. Cell Migration
- Chapter 7. Cell Migration in Development: A Brief Overview
- Morphogenesis by Coalescence of Dispersed Cells
- Translocation of Groups of Cells from One Place to Another
- Dispersal of Cells from One Site to the Rest of the Body
- Migration by Cell Processes
- Chapter 8. The Nano-Machinery of Locomotion
- Protrusion: The Actin-Based Nanomachinery of the Leading Edge
- Filopodia in Cell Crawling
- Invadopodia
- Control of Formation of Lamellipodia/Filopodia
- Advance of the Cell Body
- Retraction of the Rear of the Cell
- Amoeboid Motion (Bleb-Based Motility)
- Key Points to Take Forward into the Next Chapters
- Chapter 9. Guidance by Chemotaxis
- The Chemotactic Gradient
- Reading the Chemotactic Gradient
- Linking the Internal Representation of the External Gradient to Motility
- How Good a Model Is D discoideum for Other Species?
- Chemorepulsion
- Multiple Sources of Chemorepellant can Define a Pathway in a Way that Multiple Sources of Chemoattractant Cannot
- The Usefulness of Noise to Decision Making by Migrating Cells
- Integration of Chemotaxis and Contact Guidance
- Chapter 10. Guidance by Galvanotaxis
- Cell Movement in Response to Electric Fields
- Electric Fields in Living Systems
- Galvanotaxis in Tissue Engineering
- Chapter 11. Guidance by Contact
- Haptotaxis
- Durotaxis—Guidance of Cells by Gradients of Mechanical Compliance
- Topotaxis
- Attraction by Contact-Driven Cell Signal Transduction
- Pathways of Attractive Molecules in the Embryo
- Guidance of Cells by Aligned Fibres
- Guidance by Inhibition of Locomotion
- Chapter 12. Waypoint Navigation in the Embryo
- Waypoint Navigation By Germ Cells in Drosophila. Melanogaster
- Waypoint Navigation By Growth Cones
- Dense Arrays of Waypoints Make Pathways
- The Many Waypoints of the Vertebrate Visual System
- Waypoint Navigation in Regeneration
- Chapter 13. Cooperative Migration of Mesenchymal Cells
- Why Migrate as a Collective?
- The Debatable Concept of Leader and Follower Cells
- Case Study: Collective Cell Migration By the Neural Crest
- Case Study: The Rostral Migratory Stream
- Case Study: Precursors of Enteric Neurons
- Concluding Remarks
- Chapter 14. Condensation of Cells
- Condensation Through Enhanced Cell Adhesion
- Condensation By Elimination of Interstitial Matrix
- Section IV. Epithelial Morphogenesis
- Chapter 15. The Epithelial State: A Brief Overview
- The Making of an Epithelium
- The Forces that Shape an Epithelium
- Chapter 16. Neighbour Exchange and Convergent Extension
- Cellular Mechanisms of Epithelial Convergent Extension
- Selection of which Boundaries Shrink and which Expand: the Planar Polarity System
- Mesenchymal Convergent Extension
- Hybrid Mechanisms
- Chapter 17. Epithelial Morphogenesis: Closure of Holes
- Dorsal Closure in Drosophila melanogaster
- Wound Healing in the Embryo
- Cell Crawling in Hole Closure
- Wound Healing in Adults
- Chapter 18. Invagination and Evagination: The Making and Shaping of Folds and Tubes
- Invagination
- Drivers of Invagination (1): Apical Constriction
- Drivers of Invagination (2): Basal Wedging
- Drivers of Invagination (3): Cell-On-Cell Migration (‘Telescoping’)
- Drivers of Invagination (4): Canopy Contraction
- Drivers of Invagination (5): Matrix Mechanics
- Hybrid Mechanisms
- Orthogonal Invagination: Neural Tube Formation in Vertebrates
- Invagination without Tube Formation
- Evagination of Imaginal Discs
- Chapter 19. Epithelial Fusion
- Tracheal Fusion in Drosophila melanogaster
- Fusion in Capillary Connections
- Epithelial Fusion in Palate Development
- Epithelial Fusion in Production of Tubes by Orthogonal Invagination
- Chapter 20. Epithelial Branching
- Branching by Sprouting
- Simple Culture Models of Branching
- Branching in the Tracheal System of Drosophila melanogaster
- Branching Epithelia of Vertebrates
- The Elongation of New Branches
- Switching Between Modes of Branching
- How Conserved Is Branching By Sprouting?
- Branching By Clefting
- Patterning the Branching Tree
- Intussusceptive Branching
- Automatic Versus Planned Architecture in Branching Systems
- Chapter 21. Boundaries to Epithelial Movement
- Avoiding the Problem of Boundary Control
- Protecting a Border by Controlling Migration
- Theory 1: Boundary Formation by the Physics of Differential Adhesion (Caution!)
- Theory 2: Boundary Formation by Tension
- Reduced Cell Proliferation—An Aid to Boundary Stability?
- Section V. Morphogenesis By Cell Proliferation and Death
- Chapter 22. Growth, Proliferation and Death – A Brief Overview
- Cell Proliferation Is Controlled at Several Scales
- Control of Cell Proliferation
- A Brief Introduction to the Cell Cycle
- Local Control of Cell Proliferation
- Tissue-Scale Control of Proliferation: A Mechanism for Keeping Different Cell Populations in Balance
- Large-Scale Control of Cell Proliferation
- Interplay Between Global and Organ-specific Signals
- Plants Show a Direct Connection Between Growth and Morphogenesis
- Chapter 23. Morphogenesis by Orientated Cell Division
- Orientation of the Mitotic Spindle
- Adaptive Self-Organization of Mitotic Orientation and Hertwig's Tule
- Orientated Cell Division in Plants
- Chapter 24. Morphogenesis by Elective Cell Death
- Mechanisms of Elective Cell Death
- Sculpting Tissues by Elimination of Cells
- Cell Death in Balancing the Embryo: The Trophic Theory
- Anoikis and Error Correction
- Elective Cell Death in Plants
- Death for Life
- Section VI. Morphogenesis in Context
- Chapter 25. From Mechanisms to Morphology: A Brief Overview
- Activating Morphogenetic Mechanisms
- Restricting Competence in Space: Pattern Formation
- Restricting Competence in Time: Progressions and Clocks
- Signals Controlling Morphogenesis
- Summary of This Chapter
- Chapter 26. Case Studies From Natural Development
- Dictyostelium discoideum: From Single Cells to a Coherent Multicellular Organism
- Morphogenesis of the Tetrapod Limb
- Morphogenesis of Fruit Fly Wings
- The Surprizing Simplicity of Gut Looping in the Chick Embryo
- Chapter 27. Morphogenesis in Organoids
- Organoids Made from Random Mixes of Progenitor Cells
- From Random Mix to Micro-order
- Why Only Micro-order?
- Similar Phenomena in Other Organoids
- What This Might Say About Natural Morphogenesis and Evolution
- Chapter 28. Pathological Morphogenesis
- Induced Formation of New Organs: Crown Gall Disease in Plants
- Formation of Supernumerary Bones: Myositis Ossificans in Humans
- Aberrant Induction of Fusions and Connections
- Deliberately Activated Morphogenetic Mechanisms: The Basis of Surgery
- Making the Best of It: Coping With Large-Scale Changes of Pattern
- Pathological Morphogenesis and Evolution
- Section VII. Modelling Morphogenesis
- Chapter 29. Modelling Morphogenesis: A Brief Overview
- The Purposes of Modelling
- Broad Strategies for Modelling: Mathematical Versus Synthetic Biological
- Chapter 30. Mechanical and Mathematical Models of Morphogenesis
- Physical Models
- Computer Models of Morphogenesis
- Concluding Remarks
- Chapter 31. Modelling Using Living Cells: Environment Switching, Tissue Engineering, and Synthetic Morphology
- Environment Switching: The Rise of the Xenobots
- Tissue Engineering as a Technique for Modelling Morphogenesis
- Synthetic Morphology
- Section VIII. Conclusion and Perspectives
- Chapter 32. Conclusions and Perspectives
- Provisional Conclusions From the Mechanisms Described in Foregoing Chapters
- Do Morphogenetic Systems Exhibit Purposive, Goal-Seeking Behaviour?
- The Multilayer Organization of Morphogenetic Processes
- Robustness of Morphogenesis
- The Useful-Yet-Dangerous Metaphor of Modularity
- Are Multi-Layered Morphogenetic Systems Hierarchical?
- Why Are Morphogenetic Mechanisms Organised the Way They Are?
- Looking Forwards: What Remains to Be Done?
- Index
- Edition: 3
- Published: June 10, 2023
- Imprint: Academic Press
- No. of pages: 532
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN: 9780323999656
- eBook ISBN: 9780323985284
JD
Jamie A. Davies
Since 1995 Davies has run his own laboratory at the University of Edinburgh, with a multidisciplinary focus on discovering how mammalian organs construct themselves and how we can use apply knowledge to build new tissues and organs for those in need. Some of the work of his 20-strong research team is 'conventional' developmental biology; identifying signals and mechanisms used in natural organ development. Some is bioinformatic analysis (we host the editorial office of an international database for renal development – www.gudmap.org – funded by the USA National Institutes of Health, and the www.guidetopharmacology.org database, an international effort for the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology). Some of his work is in tissue engineering – his lab has recently developed a method to produce engineered 'fetal kidneys' from simple suspensions of stem cells, an activity that attracted considerable press attention last year. Finally, his lab is pioneering the application of synthetic biology techniques to tissue engineering, to 'program' cells to make structures that are designed rather than evolved.
Davies has published around 140 research papers in the field of mammalian development, has published one major specialist monograph (Mechanisms of Morphogenesis, Elsevier, 2005 2nd Ed 2014), one public engagement book (Life Unfoloding, OUP, 2013 (Hardback), 2015 (paperback), now in translation also) and has edited three multi-author books in the fields of development, stem cells and tissue engineering. His contributions to research and teaching in this area have been recognized by having been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Davies served as Deputy Chair of the National Centre for 3Rs, a government agency that promotes research that refines, reduces or replaces animal experiments. He has also served as Editor-in-Chief of the research journal Organogenesis for 8 years, and is currently an Editor of Journal of Anatomy and PLOS One.