Developmental Biology

Developmental Biology has been revolutionized by the flood of methods and insights from molecular biology and genetics, as well as a resurgence of interest in developmental pathways and fields. This concise, readable, and splendidly illustrated textbook describes the organizational, cellular, biochemical and molecular processes by which a fertilized egg is transformed in an adult animal. The book is noteworthy for its treatment of development in model organisms, whose contributions to modern biology were recognized in the 1995 Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine. The reader will also find overviews of major themes such as fertilization, developmental genetics, and sexual development. An outstanding feature of Developmental Biology is a wealth of exceptionally clear and vivid illustrations that complement the text, resulting in a succinct yet fully up-to-date treatment of this rapidly changing field.

This outstanding introduction to developmental biology takes a contemporary approach to describing the complex process whereby an egg is transformed into an adult organism. Featuring exceptionally clear two-color illustrations, Muller's Developmental Biology is designed for use in either undergraduate or graduate level courses. Revised by the author to incorporate recent progress in developmental biology, the book will be welcomed by students, instructors, and scientists looking for a modern treatment of this rapidly-changing field.

1. Development: organisms construct and organize themselves on the basis of inherited information. 2. Basic stages, principles and terms of development 3. Model organisms in developmental biology 4. Comparative review: the phylotypic stage of vertebrates, common vs. disuniting features, and aspects of evolution 5. The egg cell and sperm get a dowry 6. The start: fertilization and activation of the egg 7. Precisely patterned cleavage divisions are driven by an oscillator 8. Determination: cells are programmed and committed to their fates 9. Epigenetic pattern formation 10. Differentiation is based upon differential gene expression that is programmed during determination