The study of vertebrate embryonic development became a separate
science in the early 1800s thanks to advances in microscopy.
Embryologists collected and dissected specimens from chicken,
frogs, turtles, fish, mice as well as humans, observed and
documented the anatomy and physiology. These largely observatory
work produced many of the important concepts in modern
developmental biology, such as germ layers (von Baer, 1828), the
theory of natural selection (Darwin, 1859), and the Organizer
(Spemann and Mangold, 1934). After World War II, especially after
the demonstration of DNA as the genetic material and advancement in
recombinant DNA technology, the focus of studies shifted to the
cellular, molecular and genetic processes of development, the
mechanisms of regulation, and the basis for developmental defects
and diseases. In recent years, advancements in stem cell biology
and gene editing technology ushered vertebrate embryology into a
new era as scientists use the tools and paradigms of embryonic
development to tackle diseases of all ages, bridging the embryo and
the adult. There is a vast body of research on vertebrate
embryology, enough to fill a whole library. It is not the goal of
this book to provide a comprehensive picture. Rather, I draw an
extremely simplified sketch, a "tasting menu", of current research
topics. The book is organized into five sections. Section 1
illustrates a number of major research questions on the three
developmental stages - cleavage, gastrulation, and organogenesis.
Section 2 presents the frontiers in the study of genetic and
epigenetic regulation: the role of genetic interactions,
chromatin-based regulation, and non-coding RNAs. Section 3
describes the current research and application of stem cells.
Section 4 introduces the role of genetic and environmental factors
in developmental defects. Finally, Section 5 highlights the
exciting new field of gene editing, using TALENs and CRISPR/Cas9
technologies as two examples.
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