1 Kevin Moses It is now 25 years since the study of the development of the compound eye in Drosophila really began with a classic paper (Ready et al. 1976). In 1864, August Weismann published a monograph on the development of Diptera and included some beautiful drawings of the developing imaginal discs (Weismann 1864). One of these is the first description of the third instar eye disc in which Weismann drew a vertical line separating a posterior domain that included a regular pattern of clustered cells from an anterior domain without such a pattern. Weismann suggested that these clusters were the precursors of the adult ommatidia and that the line marks the anterior edge of the eye. In his first suggestion he was absolutely correct - in his second he was wrong. The vertical line shown was not the anterior edge of the eye, but the anterior edge of a moving wave of patterning and cell type specification that 112 years later (1976) Ready, Hansen and Benzer would name the "morphogenetic furrow". While it is too late to hear from August Weismann, it is a particular pleasure to be able to include a chapter in this Volume from the first author of that 1976 paper: Don Ready! These past 25 years have seen an astonishing explosion in the study of the fly eye (see Fig.

Natural selection operates among individual organisms which differ in their genetic constitution. The degree of hereditary variability within a species is greatly enhanced by cross-fertilization. Indeed, the mechanism of sexual reproduction occurred very early in evolution, for it is seen today even in bacteria. In Escherichia coli, fertilization occurs by passage of the single chromosome from the male into the female bacterium (LEDERBERG, 1959). In multicellular organisms, the separation of germ from soma, and the production of haploid gametes became mandatory. The gametes were of two types. One, extremely mobile, was designed to seek out and penetrate the other, which loaded with nutrients, received the mobile gamete and intiated the development of a new individual. The foundation for true bisexuality was thus laid. In the primitive state of bisexuality, whether an individual is to be a sperm-producing male or an egg-producing female appears to be decided rather haphazardly. In the worm, Banelia viridis, the minute males are parasites in the female. Larvae that become attached to the proboscis of an adult female become males, while unattached larvae sink to the bottom and become females (BALTZER, 1935). The more sophisticated state of bisexuality was initiated by setting aside a particular pair of chromosomes for specialization and making either the male or the female a heterogametic sex. Sex chromosomes as we know them were thus born.

Until quite recently, the field of reproductive immunology was very much a neglected area of biology, seen by most reproductive physiologists as of only peripheral importance. It was generally acknowledged as curious that a female mammal tolerated the intrusion of alien sperm and the persisting presence of an alien fetus, while reserving the prerogative of rejecting grafts of tissue, even when these were from her own mate. Several theories were advanced to explain this paradox, each with some supporting evidence: all were eventually shown to be inadequate. And there the matter was, on the whole, permitted to rest. In the last few years, the situation has changed dramatically, and the neglected area of overlap between immunology and reproduction has again become densely populated by research workers. As a symptom of this resurgence of interest, a specialist journal (the Journal of Reproductive Immunology) has been launched to supply what had rapidly been perceived as a need.

This book attempts to outline population genetics and quantitative ge netics as they pertain to animal breeding and to discuss the theoretical aspects of this field of agricultural activity. Therefore, it brings into focus the basic principles of animal breeding, which are illustrated with per tinent examples; however, it is not intended to give recommendations for particular situations. Since the first edition, considerable development has occurred both in the basic and in the more applied fields. This has modified and in some cases even changed previously held conceptions, necessitating a thorough revision of the first edition. The extent of work in this sphere has reached dimensions which preclude exhaustive discussion of all its aspects in a volume of this size. Nevertheless it is hoped that this introductory text will stimulate the reader to explore the subject in greater depth and inspire study of the original literature. It is further hoped that my teaching experience has had some no ticeable impact on style and presentation. lowe much to constructive critical comments on the first edition. I am grateful to Dr. D. L. Frape for his help in changing my own translation into readable English. M. Asbeck and E. Fuchshuber have completed an admirable job in typing my handwritten script and A. Pickal accomplished the careful drawing of fresh illustrations."

The foundation of quantitative genetics theory was developed during the last century and facilitated many successful breeding programs for cultivated plants and t- restrial livestock. The results have been almost universally impressive, and today nearly all agricultural production utilises genetically improved seed and animals. The aquaculture industry can learn a great deal from these experiences, because the basic theory behind selective breeding is the same for all species. The ?rst published selection experiments in aquaculture started in 1920 s to improve disease resistance in ?sh, but it was not before the 1970 s that the ?rst family based breeding program was initiated for Atlantic salmon in Norway by AKVAFORSK. Unfortunately, the subsequent implementation of selective breeding on a wider scale in aquaculture has been slow, and despite the dramatic gains that have been demonstrated in a number of species, less than 10% of world aquaculture production is currently based on improved stocks. For the long-term sustainability of aquaculture production, there is an urgent need to develop and implement e- cient breeding programs for all species under commercial production. The ability for aquaculture to successfully meet the demands of an ever increasing human p- ulation, will rely on genetically improved stocks that utilise feed, water and land resources in an ef?cient way. Technological advances like genome sequences of aquaculture species, and advanced molecular methods means that there are new and exciting prospects for building on these well-established methods into the future.

Essential Reproduction provides an accessible account of the fundamentals of reproduction within the context of cutting-edge knowledge and examples of its application. The eighth edition of this internationally best-selling title provides a multidisciplinary approach integrating anatomy, physiology, genetics, behaviour, biochemistry, molecular biology and clinical science, to give thorough coverage of the study of mammalian reproduction. Key features: Contains discussion of the latest on conceptual, informational and applied aspects of reproduction New pedagogical features such as clinical case studies at the end of each chapter Better use of boxed material to improve separation of narrative text from ancillary information Highlighted key words for ease of reference relate to summary of key points Introduction now split into two sections Expanded content in Fetal challenges, and Society and reproduction Substantial rearrangement and updating in Making sperm, Controlling fertility, and Restoring fertility

Fish resources in natural water bodies are tending to decrease due to intensified fishing, the extensive construction of hydropower plants on rivers, and the pollution of seas and freshwater basins by indus trial and agricultural wastes. Nowadays only artificial fish rearing can meet man's requirements in fish products. Fish breeding is still very young as compared to plant breeding and animal husbandry. Although fishes have been reared artificially since ancient times in certain Asian countries, this usually included the cultivation of embryos and larvae caught in rivers and lakes. Among the exceptions, only the common carp Cyprinus carpio and the domesticated variety of the crucian carp, the goldfish Carassius auratus, which were cultivated in the East, may be mentioned. Com mon carp breeding began in China about 2000 years ago but was la ter banned by one of the emperors and started again only relatively recently. The goldfish has been cultivated for decorative purposes for about 1000 years. Many remarkable varieties of the goldfish have been developed in China and later in Japan. The first improved breeds (German "races") of the common carp known in Europe appeared after the domestication of the Da nube wild carp in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Local breeds of the carp were probably established somewhat later in Chi na, Japan and Indonesia; even now these breeds have only minor differences as compared to their ancestor, the Asian wild carp.

This publication contains the proceedings of a seminar held in Toulouse, France, on 10th, 11th and 12th June 1980, under the auspices of the Commission of the European Communities, Directorate General for Agriculture, Division for the Coordination of Agricultural Research, as part of a programme of research on beef production. The seminar was intended to bring together available experience on the utilisation of hereditary muscular hypertrophy for meat production in the member states of the European Communities. Although the phenomenon of double muscling has been exploited in various countries, particularly France, Italy and Belgium, different breeds are used and different methods of exploitation employed. An attempt was therefore made to bring together the collective experience of participants. Contributions ranged from those on the inheritance of muscular hypertrophy to alternative production systems and from fundamental studies of muscle growth to practical ways of selling the additional musrile found in animals with muscular hypertrophy. The collection of assembled papers and discussions thus represents one of the most extensive reviews of the subject that has been attempted.

The farming of deer as an alternative to traditional livestock enterprises is now firmly established and is expanding within several countries of the European Economic Community. However, the successful farming of deer requires the adoption of appropriate management schemes to accommodate the biological requirements of these animals. Much experience has now been gained and it is essential that this information becomes readily available througout the Community. In addition, as the volume of deer farming has increased a number of health problems have become recognised which present features distinct from other domestic ruminants. Although knowledge is still incomplete it would appear that deer may react to certain pathogens in a very different way to other domestic ruminants, presenting new problems of diagnosis and control. The rapid detection of these conditions and development of appropriate control strategies will be essential for the establishment of an economically viable deer farming industry in the Community. Much of the information on the management of farmed deer and their diseases is anecdotal and fragmented and the purpose of this meeting was to accelerate the dissemination of this knowledge between scientists in the Community committed to the development of this area of agricultural industry. The meeting, financed by the Commission of the European Communities from its budget for the Coordination of Agricultural Research in the Community was held in Scotland, on the 10th to 11th December, 1987.

Topics for the Beltsville Symposia are selected to highlight specific areas of research and science policy that are of concern to scientists in the Beltsville Area as well as to the general scientific community. Each sympo sium in the series is structured to provide a realistic appraisal of current findings, research progress, and relevant policy issues within the constraints established by the organizing committee. Thus, the presentations and dis cussions that have marked these symposia have had a strong appeal to the broad community of scientists. Knowledge of the diversity of living organisms is still quite limited. Since the time of Linnaeus, about 1.7 million species have been described. The actual number has been estimated between 5-50 million. Many species, land races, and strains are vanishing. Clearly, the world's scientific institutions are inadequately equipped to attain sufficient knowledge of a significant fraction of the diverse living forms. Also, efforts in the collection and preservation of germplasm of plants and animals urgently need to be strengthened. These mattes are critically important to future generations. This symposium addresses vital concerns of biotic diversity and germ plasm preservation from diverse perspectives. Many of the parts provide concrete recommendations for action, and they call attention to areas of research that must be pursued with intensity."

In most breeding programs of plant and animal species, genetic data (such as data from field progeny tests) are used to rank parents and help choose candidates for selection. In general, all selection processes first rank the candidates using some function of the observed data and then choose as the selected portion those candidates with the largest (or smallest) values of that function. To make maximum progress from selection, it is necessary to use a function of the data that results in the candidates being ranked as closely as possible to the true (but always unknown) ranking. Very often the observed data on various candidates are messy and unbalanced and this complicates the process of developing precise and accurate rankings. For example, for any given candidate, there may be data on that candidate and its siblings growing in several field tests of different ages. Also, there may be performance data on siblings, ancestors or other relatives from greenhouse, laboratory or other field tests. In addition, data on different candidates may differ drastically in terms of quality and quantity available and may come from varied relatives. Genetic improvement programs which make most effective use of these varied, messy, unbalanced and ancestral data will maximize progress from all stages of selection. In this regard, there are two analytical techniques, best linear prediction (BLP) and best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP), which are quite well-suited to predicting genetic values from a wide variety of sources, ages, qualities and quantities of data.

From probe design to applications in clinical settings, this book provides a diverse set of instructive examples, guided by experts in the field who offer easy-to-follow experimentals. The book first offers an introduction to the basic principles of fluorescence and then describes applications of fluorogenic probes in real-time PCR, which currently is the gold standard for quantitative DNA and RNA analysis.

Coverage extends the potential of realtime as well as advocates simplifications of the probe technologies. It also presents a new simplified molecular beacon design, EasyBeacons, and demonstrates the utility in DNA methylation profiling.

Drosophila is a comprehensive collection of methods and protocols for Drosophila, one of the oldest and most commonly used model organisms in modern biology. The protocols are written by the scientists who invented the methods. The text presents a diverse set of techniques that range from the basic handling of flies to more complex applications. This is the perfect reference manual for Drosophila researchers.

Every cell has developed mechanisms to respond to changes in its environment and to adapt its growth and metabolism to unfavorable conditions. The unicellular eukaryote yeast has long proven as a particularly useful model system for the analysis of cellular stress responses, and the completion of the yeast genome sequence has only added to its power
This volume comprehensively reviews both the basic features of the yeast genral stress response and the specific adapations to different stress types (nutrient depletion, osmotic and heat shock as well as salt and oxidative stress). It includes the latest findings in the field and discusses the implications for the analysis of stress response mechanisms in higher eukaryotes as well.

In this book, numerous prominent aquaculture researchers contribute 27 chapters that provide overviews of aquaculture effects on the environment. They comprise a comprehensive synthesis of many ecological and genetic problems implicated in the practice of aquaculture and of many proven, attempted, or postulated solutions to those problems. This is an outstanding source of reference for all types of aquaculture activities.

Upcoming applications of genetic engineering in farm animals include higher yields, leaner meat, or disease resistance. The proceedings cover an analysis of the state of the art of the technology and its applications, an introduction to the specific application zoopharming (a method to produce biopharmaceuticals in transgenic livestock), including an analysis of the market for biopharmaceuticals. In addition an assessment of ethical aspects of livestock biotechnology and considerations regarding animal welfare implications are covered. The study is addressed to science, industry and politics.

This title develops from the 24th Stadler symposium. It explores the general theme "GENOME EXPLOITATION: Data Mining the Genomes." The idea behind the theme is to discuss and illustrate how scientists are going to characterize and make use of the massive amount of information being accumulated about plant and animal genomes. The book presents a state-of-the-art picture on mining the Genome databases. Its chapters are authored by key stars in the field.

This is an in-depth examination of circadian biology, presented by leading researchers in the field. Methods for analysis of rhythmic readouts in select model organisms are included. This cutting-edge collection of protocols is adaptable for research at every level, and represents the huge strides that chronobiologists have made over the past two decades. Circadian biologists at all research levels will realize tremendous benefit from this extraordinary collection.

This work offers a fascinating insight into a crucial genetic process. Recombination is, quite simply, one of the most important topics in contemporary biology. This book is a totally comprehensive treatment of the subject, summarizing all existing views on the topic and at the same time putting them into context. It provides in-depth and up-to-date analysis of the chapter topics, and has been written by international experts in the field.

Once per life cycle, mitotic nuclear divisions are replaced by meiosis I and II reducing chromosome number from the diploid level to a haploid genome and recombining chromosome arms by crossing-over. In animals, all this happens during formation of eggs and sperm in yeasts before spore formation. The mechanisms of reciprocal exchange at crossover/chiasma sites are central to mainstream meiosis. To initiate the meiotic exchange of DNA, surgical cuts are made as a form of calculated damage that subsequently is repaired by homologous recombination. These key events are accompanied by ancillary provisions at the level of chromatin organization, sister chromatid cohesion and differential centromere connectivity. Great progress has been made in recent years in our understanding of these mechanisms. Questions still open primarily concern the placement of and mutual coordination between neighboring crossover events. Of overlapping significance, this book features two comprehensive treatises of enzymes involved in meiotic recombination, as well as the historical conceptualization of meiotic phenomena from genetical experiments. More specifically, these mechanisms are addressed in yeasts as unicellular model eukaryotes. Furthermore, evolutionary subjects related to meiosis are treated."

This book details the statistical concepts used in gene mapping, first in the experimental context of crosses of inbred lines and then in outbred populations, primarily humans. It presents elementary principles of probability and statistics, which are implemented by computational tools based on the R programming language to simulate genetic experiments and evaluate statistical analyses. Each chapter contains exercises, both theoretical and computational, some routine and others that are more challenging. The R programming language is developed in the text.

In one volume this book provides useful and innovative protocols developed specifically for the proteomic profiling of human tissues. The book provides high-throughput gel-based techniques, microarrays and a number of other methods used in proteomic research. This important book will prove indispensable to investigators of biomarker discovery and therapeutic response profiling, as well as those forging new paths in the fields of theranostics and personalized medicine.

The Welfare of Animals is an exciting book that will stimulate and provoke its readers. It describes many problems faced by animals - those we use for food, for pleasure or in research, and those simply but harshly affected by shrinking habitats in the face of the ever-growing human population. And yet it is not a depressing read. It focuses not only on the difficulties that animals face, but on their capacity for free-choice, for joy and excitement, and on the possible ways in which the planet can be shared between species if only we take the time and trouble to think more carefully about the impact of our actions. Clive Phillips moved from the United Kingdom to take up a Foundation Chair in Animal Welfare at the University of Queensland, becoming Australia's first Professor of Animal Welfare in 2003. This cultural leap, combined with his travels in countries like Malaysia and Borneo, permits him the unique and broad perspective that forms the backbone of this book. Eschewing the normal territory patrolled by the animal scientist (explaining the physiological basis of the stress response or causation of abnormal behaviour), Clive ventures into jungles and deserts, city centres and tribal homelands, and presents a book that remarkably and successfully combines travel-diary, nature notes, social and cultural history.

The centromere is a chromosomal region that enables the accurate segregation of chromosomes during mitosis and meiosis. It holds sister chromatids together, and through its centromere DNA-protein complex known as the kinetochore binds spindle microtubules to bring about accurate chromosome movements. Despite this conserved function, centromeres exhibit dramatic difference in structure, size, and complexity. Extensive studies on centromeric DNA revealed its rapid evolution resulting often in significant difference even among closely related species. Such a plasticity of centromeric DNA could be explained by epigenetic c- trol of centromere function, which does not depend absolutely on primary DNA sequence. According to epigenetic centromere concept, which is thoroughly d- cussed by Tanya Panchenko and Ben Black in Chap. 1 of this book, centromere activation or inactivation might be caused by modifications of chromatin. Such acquired chromatin epigenetic modifications are then inherited from one cell di- sion to the next. Concerning centromere-specific chromatin modification, it is now evident that all centromeres contain a centromere specific histone H3 variant, CenH3, which replaces histone H3 in centromeric nucleosomes and provides a structural basis that epigenetically defines centromere and differentiates it from the surrounding chromatin. Recent insights into the CenH3 presented in this chapter add important mechanistic understanding of how centromere identity is initially established and subsequently maintained in every cell cycle.

Metabolism is the sum of the chemical reactions in cells that produce life-sustaining chemical energy and metabolites. In the post-genome era, metabolism has taken on new significance for biological scientists: metabolites are the chemical basis of phenotypes that are final expressions of genomic information. This book covers research on metabolomics, ranging from the development of specialized chemical analytical techniques to the construction of databases and methods for metabolic simulation. The authors have been directly involved in the development of all the subject areas, including capillary electrophoresis, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, metabolic databases, and metabolic simulation. Breakthrough achievements and the future of metabolome studies are described, making this book a valuable source for researchers in metabolomics in diverse fields, such as plant, animal, cellular, microbial, pharmaceutical, medical, and genetic sciences.