Bücher der Reihe Developmental and Cell Biology Series

This treatise, aimed at researchers in plant developmental biology, discusses how each cell has the ability to discriminate between different chemical signals, determining which it will respond to and which it will ignore. These chemical signals shape the differentiation of that cell and the plant as a whole.

This 1999 book contains comprehensive information about the neural crest, a structure unique to the vertebrate embryo, which has only a transient existence in early embryonic life. The ontogeny of the neural crest embodies the most important issues in developmental biology, as the neural crest is considered to have played a crucial role in evolution of the vertebrate phylum.

This book, first published in 1990, provides an overview of the events and mechanisms of morphogenesis, the set of processes that generate shape and form in the embryo. The major molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie morphogenetic changes are reviewed and how these processes are integrated during normal development is described.

This book considers in detail the mechanisms of a major human problem. Chromosome imbalance affects all stages of life in ways ranging from spontaneous abortion and retardation to behavioural problems and malignancy.

Fungal Morphogenesis brings together in one book, for the first time, the full scope of fungal developmental biology. It provides a coherent account of the subject and proposes ideas on which future research can be based. The author blends together physiological, biochemical, structural and molecular descriptions within an evolutionary framework.

Development of the shapes of living organisms and their parts is a field of science in which there are no generally accepted theoretical principles. What form these principles are likely to take is a subject in which there is a wide gulf of disagreement between physical scientists and biologists. This book contains both an extensive philosophical commentary on this dichotomy.

Cytokinesis is the division of the cell body that follows the sorting and transport of chromosomes. This book traces the history of some of the major ideas in the field and gives an account of our current knowledge of animal cytokinesis.

Focusing on the structure of plant tissues, this purpose of this book is to try and predict what should be looked for at a molecular level. Each chapter deals with a defined problem such as the role of hormones as correlative agents, tissue polarization, apical meristems and cell lineages.

Neuronal Growth Cones, presents the molecular biology of the behavior of growth cones. It covers the basic morphology and behavior of growth cones, motility and neurite extension via the growth cone cytoskeleton, pathfinding, intracellular signalling, and synaptogenesis. This book is the first detailed analysis of all aspects of growth cone biology.

This book examines the genetic circuitry of the well-known 'fruit fly'. It looks at the proximity versus pedigree imperatives, bristle pattern formation and disc development, and has entire chapters devoted to the leg, wing, and eye. Appendices include a glossary of protein domains and catalogues of well-studied genes. More than 60 detailed schematics clarify the text.

This book presents a novel approach to understanding ageing, which many believe is still an unsolved problem. It explains why ageing exists in animals, reviews our understanding of it at the biological level, discusses ageing's origins, the evolution of ageing and age-related diseases.

In the last ten years there has been a revolution in our understanding of early animal development. This latest edition explains how the body plan of an embryo emerges from a newly fertilised egg. The emphasis is on conceptual clarity and unity, bringing together mathematical models, embryological experiments and molecular biology.

During animal development the descendants of a single cell form many different tissues and organs in appropriate positions within an embryo. To do this they must recognise their position, and this book examines our knowledge of how this is done.

This book contains a review of meiosis, the antithesis of fertilization, the unique genetically programmed mode of nuclear division associated with a halving of the chromosome number in sexually reproducing eukaryotes. It describes their scheduling, mechanics and biochemistry as well as their genetic controls and the variation in their sexual and subsexual systems.

This description of a model system for cell differentiation and organogenesis is written by one of the foremost researchers in the area. The main emphasis is on the mammalian kidney, but the book also deals with the development of the transien excretory organs. It includes discussions of induction, proliferation, early cytodifferentiation and morphogenesis and organogenesis.

Unicellular organisms use gravity as an environmental guide to reach and stay in regions optimal for their growth and reproduction. These single cells play a significant role in food webs and these factors together make the effects of gravity on unicellular organisms a fascinating and important subject for scientific study. In addition, they present valuable model systems for studying the mechanisms of gravity perception, a topic of increasing interest in these days of experimentation in space. This book reveals how single cells achieve the same sensoric capacity as multicellular organisms like plants or animals. It reviews the field, discussing the historical background, ecological significance and related physiology of unicellular organisms, as well as various experimental techniques and models with which to study them. Those working on the biology of unicellular organisms, as well as in related areas of gravitational and space science will find this book of value.

This 2001 book examines the modern synthesis of Dictyostelid biology. It begins with the history of Dictyostelids and discusses each stage of their development, analyses the properties of the Dictyostelid genome, and presents methods available to manipulate their genes. Essential reading for researchers and graduates in developmental and cellular biology.

The central thesis of this book is that Volvox and its unicellular and colonial relatives provide a wholly unrivalled opportunity to explore the proximate and ultimate causes underlying the evolution, from unicellular ancestors, of multicellular organisms with fully differentiated cell types.

This book studies the developmental biology of fern gametophytes, from their beginning through growth and maturation to their reproductive strategies. It is intended to interest and instruct advanced undergraduates and graduate students and to make an important contribution to teaching cell and developmental biology.