Cellular Basis of Morphogenesis

Contributors to this symposium focus on the interface between genes and cells, covering genetic analysis, cloning studies, and the investigation of cell lineages and cellular interactions. They note how the body axes are already determined in the eggs of invertebrates and amphibia, then consider the mechanisms as the egg cleaves, in annelids, arthropods, amphibia, and mice that underlie assignation of cells to specific lineages, which give rise to different tissues in the adult. Closing chapters characterize the molecules that mediate each cell's particular fate, its position in the final body plan as the result of cell sorting or, in some cases, cell migration.

Contributors to this symposium focus on the interface between genes and cells, covering genetic analysis, cloning studies, and the investigation of cell lineages and cellular interactions. They note how the body axes are already determined in the eggs of invertebrates and amphibia, then consider the mechanisms as the egg cleaves, in annelids, arthropods, amphibia, and mice that underlie assignation of cells to specific lineages, which give rise to different tissues in the adult. Closing chapters characterize the molecules that mediate each cell's particular fate, its position in the final body plan as the result of cell sorting or, in some cases, cell migration.

Partial table of contents:The Cellular Interphase (A. Garcia-Bellido).Localization of mRNA and Axis Formation During XenopusEmbryogenesis (D. Melton, et al.).Morphogen Gradients and the Control of Body Pattern in InsectEmbryos (G. Struhl).The Establishment of Regional Identity in the XenopusBlastula (J. Heasman, et al.).Factors Specifying Cell Lineages in the Leech (D. Weisblat &S. Astrow).n Vivo Competition Identifies PositiveCis-Regulatory Elements Required for Lineage-Specific GeneExpression in the Sea Urchin Embryo (R. Franks, et al.).Cell Allocation and Lineage in the Early Mouse Embryo (R.Gardner).Induction and Organization of the Body Plan in XenopusDevelopment (J. Cooke).Structure and Function of the Bithorax Complex Genes ofDrosophila (A. Busturia, et al.).Cadherin-Mediated Specific Cell Adhesion and AnimalMorphogenesis (M. Takeichi, et al.).Polarity and Patterning in the Neural Tube: The Origin andFunction of the Floor Plate (T. Jessell, et al.).Cellular Communication in the Developing Drosophila Eye(A. Tomlinson).Index of Contributors.Subject Index.