Abbreviations Preface Section A-First principles A1 Basic concepts in development biology A2 Cell fate and commitment A3 Mechanisms of developmental commitment A4 Mosaic and regulative development A5 Maintenance of differentiation A6 Pattern formation and compartments A7 Morphogenesis Section B-Experimental developmental biology B1 Model organisms B2 Developmental mutants B3 Transgenic organisms in development B4 Cellular and microsurgical techniques Section C-Genes in development C1 Gene expression and regulation C2 Chromatin and DNA methylation C3 Signal transduction in development C4 The cell division cycle C5 The cytoskeleton,cell adhesion and the extracellular matrix Section D-Unicellular models D1 Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis D2 Mating type switching in yeast D3 Aggregation and culmination in Dictyostelium discoideum Section E-Sex,gametes and fertilization E1 Germ line specification E2 Germ-cell migration E3 Gametogenesis E4 Gamete recognition,contact and fertilization E5 Sex determination Section F-Cleavage and gastrulation F1 Cleavage F2 Gastrulation in invertebrate embryos F3 Gastrulation in vertebrate embryos Section G-Single cell specification G1 Early animal development by single cell specification G2 Cell specification and patterning in Caenorhabditis elegans G3 Ascidian development G4 Early development of molluscs and annelids Section H-Axis specification and patterning in Drosophila H1 Molecular aspects of embryonic pattern formation in Drosophila H2 Anteroposterior axis specification in Drosophila H3 Gap genes H4 Molecular control of segmentation H5 Homeotic selector genes and regional specification H6 Dorsoventral axis specification and patterning Section I-Axis specification in vertebrates I1 Early patterning in vertebrates I2 The vertebrate organizer I3 Left-right asymmetry in vertebrates Section J-Fate of the ectoderm J1 The ectoderm:neural induction and teh epidermis J2 Patterning the anteroposterior neuraxis J3 Patterning the dorsoventral neuraxis J4 Shaping the neural tube J5 Neurogenesis J6 The neural crest J7 Neuronal connections Section K-Mesoderm and endoderm K1 Mesoderm induction and patterning K2 Somitogenesis and patterning K3 Somite differentiation K4 Mammalian kidney development K5 Heart development K6 Endoderm development Section L-Organogenesis in invertebrate model systems L1 Vulval specification in C.elegans L2 Pattern formation in imaginal discs L3 Drosophila eye development Section M-Vertebrate limb development M1 Initiation and maintenance of limb growth M2 Patterning and morphogenesis in limb development M3 Limb regeneration Section N-Plant development N1 Plant vs .animal development N2 Development of the plant embryo N3 Development of the seedling N4 Shoot and root meristems N5 Leaf development N6 Flower development Further reading Glossary of acronyms Index