Of Fish, Fly, Worm and Man. - Lessons from Developmental Biology for Human Gene Function and Disease

With the sequencing of several entire genomes, including that of Caenorhabditis elegans, completed, the stage is set for the next phase of "large-scale" biology, the identification of the functionality of, and the interplay between, all genes and their protein products. The aim of the ESRF Workshop 29 and hence of this book was to review the models, the powerful methodology, and selected achievements of developmental biology, which has in the past two decades not only unveiled basic molecular mechanisms of ontogenesis, but also made important contributions to deciphering signal transduction path-ways with general relevance to adult vertebrate physiology and ultimately to understanding mechanisms of pathogenesis.