Amphibian Metamorphosis
From Morphology to Molecular Biology
Description:... In an age when advanced molecular and genetic tools allow studiesin various systems, amphibian metamorphosis still offers perhapsthe most accessible model for the study of postembryonicorganogenesis and mechanisms of hormonal regulation duringvertebrate development. Amphibian Metamorphosis: From Morphology toMolecular Biology integrates findings from the most recent researchwith earlier observations, providing molecular and mechanisticinsights into the signal transduction pathways underlyingtissue-specific transformations during metamorphosis.
The author, renowned expert of anuran metamorphosis and Head of theUnit of Molecular Morphogenesis at NICHD/NIH, begins with anoverview of metamorphosis in different classes of amphibians andvarious factors that influence this process. A review of earliermorphological, cellular, and biochemical changes focuses on organsand tissues that have been studied extensively at the molecularlevel, while discussion of the thyroid hormone signal transductionpathway emphasizes transcriptional regulation mechanisms by thyroidreceptors. The book provides a summary and comparison of generegulation programs induced by thyroid hormone in several organsthat undergo distinct metamorphic transformations. Several chaptersare devoted to functional and mechanistic implications of themolecular findings on the thyroid hormone response genes in tissuetransformation.
Special features of this book include:
* An emphasis on integrating the morphological approach withmolecularand cell biology
* A historical perspective on the progression from discovery of thethyroid hormone to present-day research advances
* Comparisons of amphibian and insect metamorphosis
* Dozens of instructive photographs, several in full color
Amphibian Metamorphosis: From Morphology to Molecular Biology is aunique and invaluable resource for professionals and aspiringprofessionals in develop-mental biology, molecular biology, cellbiology, evolutionary biology, and endocrinology.
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