This lab manual is designed for upper level undergraduates or graduate students, to introduce them to the field of developmental biology. After spending two weeks learning how to handle and manipulate a variety of embryonic organisms, students will begin a series of experiments that more or less keep pace with the sequence of most developmental biology textbooks (axial patterning, plant cell totipotency, fertilization, early plant development, morphogenesis, cell adhesion, embryogenesis, gametogenesis, regeneration and metamorphosis. The manual is heavily illustrated and gives students a solid grounding in classic developmental biology as well as modern techniques in immunohistochemistry and homeobox gene expression. Appendices of recipes, needed chemicals, and sources for animals are included.

About the Author
I am the daughter of a neuroscientist father and a biology-inclined mother. In large part due to the influence of my parents, I'd planned to be a marine biologist since my early teens. At UC Santa Cruz, I pursued a degree in Marine Biology and became very interested in sensory systems of deep sea fish. My master's degree work at Moss Landing Marine Labs gave me a chance to catch and examine deep sea fish sensory systems with the aim of finding out how they locate mates. My interest gradually changed from olfactory systems to vision in time for Ph.D. work on the central visual processing systems of goldfish. A post-doctoral fellowship at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography gave me the opportunity to study yet another fish sensory system; the development of the lateral line system in sturgeon. Following my stint in San Diego, I accepted a tailor-made position for a developmental-marine biologist at Stetson University. My current research focuses on spring fish ecology & population dynamics and the impact of common pollutants on amphibian development.

Reviews
All in all a clearly written laboratory aid that should prove highly useful to those involved in developmental biology. * Biologist (2004) 51 (3) *
Am I recommending it to collegues? Yes, because adpating the practicals described here is a good way to bring unfamiliar organisms into the classroom and can be used to let students explore points made in our own, different, courses. If you want to read about simple, tested developmental protocols for sponges, planaria, sea urchins, killfish, amphibians, chicks, beans and pondweed, this is a good place to start. * BioEssays 26: 1142 *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199249718
Author Melissa Ann Gibbs
Format Paperback
Page Count 128
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 287g
Dimensions(mm) 245mm * 188mm * 9mm