Author Description

Rapid advances in developmental biology and molecular genetics have highlighted the growing need for a visual guide to the development of the major embryos used in laboratories world-wide. It is increasingly important that all biologists are familiar with the wide range of these embryos, each of which offers unique insights into one of the most exciting and challenging quests in biology: how does a complex adult animal develop from a single cell? This atlas summarizes the early development of twelve key embryos. Jonathan Bard has brought together a team of experts to illustrate and write about the development of their own preferred research embryos-from plants, through primitive systems such as the slime mold, invertebrates (worms, mollusks, sea urchins, leeches, and Drosophila) to vertebrates (fish, toad, chick, mouse, and human). Each chapter has sections on the advantages of the embryo as an experimental system, an illustrated description of normal development, well-known developmental mutants, discussions of experimental manipulations, the future potential for the embryo, and key references.