Transcriptional Control of Neural Crest Development


Book Description

The neural crest is a remarkable embryonic population of cells found only in vertebrates and has the potential to give rise to many different cell types contributing throughout the body. These derivatives range from the mesenchymal bone and cartilage comprising the facial skeleton, to neuronal derivatives of the peripheral sensory and autonomic nervous systems, to melanocytes throughout the body, and to smooth muscle of the great arteries of the heart. For these cells to correctly progress from an unspecifi ed, nonmigratory population to a wide array of dynamic, differentiated cell types-some of which retain stem cell characteristics presumably to replenish these derivatives-requires a complex network of molecular switches to control the gene programs giving these cells their defi ning structural, enzymatic, migratory, and signaling capacities. This review will bring together current knowledge of neural crest-specifi c transcription factors governing these progressions throughout the course of development. A more thorough understanding of the mechanisms of transcriptional control in differentiation will aid in strategies designed to push undifferentiated cells toward a particular lineage, and unraveling these processes will help toward reprogramming cells from a differentiated to a more naive state. Table of Contents: Introduction / AP Genes / bHLH Genes / ETS Genes / Fox Genes / Homeobox Genes / Hox Genes / Lim Genes / Pax Genes / POU Domain Genes / RAR/RXR Genes / Smad Genes / Sox Genes / Zinc Finger Genes / Other Miscellaneous Genes / References / Author Biographies




Transcriptional Switches During Development


Book Description

This new volume in the Current Topics in Developmental Biology series concentrates on transcriptional switches during development. It includes chapters on such topics as muscle diversity, transcriptional response to genome structural variation, and the temporal gene network in Drosophila neural stem cells. With an international team of authors, this volume is a must-have addition for researchers and students alike. - Concentrates on transcriptional switches during development - Includes chapters on such topics as muscle diversity, transcriptional response to genome structural variation, and the temporal gene network in Drosophila neural stem cells - With an international team of authors, this volume is a must-have addition for researchers and students alike




Long-Range Control of Gene Expression


Book Description

Long-Range Control of Gene Expression covers the current progress in understanding the mechanisms for genomic control of gene expression, which has grown considerably in the last few years as insight into genome organization and chromatin regulation has advanced. Discusses the evolution of cis-regulatory sequences in drosophila Includes information on genomic imprinting and imprinting defects in humans Includes a chapter on epigenetic gene regulation in cancer




Stress-Activated Protein Kinases


Book Description

In this book leading researchers in the field discuss the state-of-the-art of many aspects of SAPK signaling in various systems from yeast to mammals. These include various chapters on regulatory mechanisms as well as the contribution of the SAPK signaling pathways to processes such as gene expression, metabolism, cell cycle regulation, immune responses and tumorigenesis. Written by international experts, the book will appeal to cell biologists and biochemists.




Mammalian Development


Book Description

"A subject collection from Cold Spring Harbor perspectives in biology."




Transcriptional Switches During Development


Book Description

This new volume in the Current Topics in Developmental Biology series concentrates on transcriptional switches during development. It includes chapters on such topics as muscle diversity, transcriptional response to genome structural variation, and the temporal gene network in Drosophila neural stem cells. With an international team of authors, this volume is a must-have addition for researchers and students alike. Concentrates on transcriptional switches during development Includes chapters on such topics as muscle diversity, transcriptional response to genome structural variation, and the temporal gene network in Drosophila neural stem cells With an international team of authors, this volume is a must-have addition for researchers and students alike




Epigenetic Mechanisms of Gene Regulation


Book Description

Many inheritable changes in gene function are not explained by changes in the DNA sequence. Such epigenetic mechanisms are known to influence gene function in most complex organisms and include effects such as transposon function, chromosome imprinting, yeast mating type switching and telomeric silencing. In recent years, epigenetic effects have become a major focus of research activity. This monograph, edited by three well-known biologists from different specialties, is the first to review and synthesize what is known about these effects across all species, particularly from a molecular perspective, and will be of interest to everyone in the fields of molecular biology and genetics.




Maternal Control of Development in Vertebrates


Book Description

Eggs of all animals contain mRNAs and proteins that are supplied to or deposited in the egg as it develops during oogenesis. These maternal gene products regulate all aspects of oocyte development, and an embryo fully relies on these maternal gene products for all aspects of its early development, including fertilization, transitions between meiotic and mitotic cell cycles, and activation of its own genome. Given the diverse processes required to produce a developmentally competent egg and embryo, it is not surprising that maternal gene products are not only essential for normal embryonic development but also for fertility. This review provides an overview of fundamental aspects of oocyte and early embryonic development and the interference and genetic approaches that have provided access to maternally regulated aspects of vertebrate development. Some of the pathways and molecules highlighted in this review, in particular, Bmps, Wnts, small GTPases, cytoskeletal components, and cell cycle regulators, are well known and are essential regulators of multiple aspects of animal development, including oogenesis, early embryogenesis, organogenesis, and reproductive fitness of the adult animal. Specific examples of developmental processes under maternal control and the essential proteins will be explored in each chapter, and where known conserved aspects or divergent roles for these maternal regulators of early vertebrate development will be discussed throughout this review. Table of Contents: Introduction / Oogenesis: From Germline Stem Cells to Germline Cysts / Oocyte Polarity and the Embryonic Axes: The Balbiani Body, an Ancient Oocyte Asymmetry / Preparing Developmentally Competent Eggs / Egg Activation / Blocking Polyspermy / Cleavage/ Mitosis: Going Multicellular / Maternal-Zygotic Transition / Reprogramming: Epigenetic Modifications and Zygotic Genome Activation / Dorsal-Ventral Axis Formation before Zygotic Genome Activation in Zebrafish and Frogs / Maternal TGF-β and the Dorsal-Ventral Embryonic Axis / Maternal Control After Zygotic Genome Activation / Compensation by Stable Maternal Proteins / Maternal Contributions to Germline Establishment or Maintenance / Perspective / Acknowledgments / References




A Genetic Switch


Book Description

The first edition of Mark Ptashne's 1986 book describing the principles of gene regulation in phage lambda became a classic in both content and form, setting a standard of clarity and precise prose that has rarely been bettered. This edition is a reprint of the original text, together with a new chapter updating the story to 2004. Among the striking new developments are recent findings on long–range interactions between proteins bound to widely separated sites on the phage genome, and a detailed description of how gene activation works.