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This book provides a comprehensive overview of topics describing the earliest steps of fertilization, from egg activation and fertilization to the activation of the zygotic genome, in various studied vertebrate model systems. The contribution of maternal and paternal factors and their role in the early embryo as parental DNA becomes modified and embryonic genes become activated is fundamental to the initiation of embryogenesis in all animal systems. It can be argued that this is a unique developmental period, when information from the parents is compressed to direct the development of the body plan of the entire organism, a process of astounding simplicity, elegance and beauty. In addition to their fundamental scientific interest, many frontiers of biomedicine, such as reproductive biology, stem cells and reprogramming, and the understanding of intergenerational diseases, depend on advances in our knowledge of these early processes. Vertebrate Development: Maternal to Zygotic Control brings together chapters from experts in various disciplines describing the latest advances related to this important developmental transition. Each chapter is a synthesis of knowledge relevant to all vertebrates, with details on specific systems as well as comparisons between the various studied vertebrate models. The editorial expertise encompasses the fields of major vertebrate model systems (mammalian, amphibian and teleost) ensuring a balanced approach to various topics. This unique book-with its combination of in-depth and up-to-date basic research, inter-species comprehensiveness and emphasis on the very early stages of animal development-is essential for research scientists studying vertebrate development, as well as being a valuable resource for college educators teaching advanced courses in developmental biology.

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Preface.- 1. Egg Activation at Fertilization.- 2. Controlling the Messenger: Regulated Translation of Maternal mRNAs in Xenopus laevis Development.- 3. Regulation of Cell Division.- 4. Vertebrate Embryonic Cleavage Pattern Determination.- 5. Localization in Oogenesis of Maternal Regulators of Embryonic Development.- 6. Vertebrate Axial Patterning: from Egg to Asymmetry.- 7. Establishment of the Vertebrate Germ Layers.- 8. Mechanisms of Vertebrate Germ Cell Determination.- 9. Cell Cycle Remodeling and Zygotic Gene Activation at the Midblastula Transition.- 10. Clearance of Parental Products.- Index.

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Dr. Francisco Pelegri is currently a Professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his postdoctoral position was at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany. His research focus is understanding at the cellular and molecular level processes involved in early zebrafish development, specifically but not exclusively the functional diversification of cell types.

Dr. Michael V. Danilchik is a Professor in the Department of Integrative Biosciences at Oregon Health & Science University. He received his PhD from the University of Washington and did his postdoctoral training at the University of California, Berkeley. His research interest is in cellular mechanisms of pregastrular morphogenesis, particularly cytoskeletal and membrane dynamics during cleavage-stage cytokinesis, and long-range cell-cell signaling modalities involving filopodia and extracellular vesicles.

Dr. Ann E. Sutherland is an Associate Professor, Cell Biology at the School of Medicine at University of Virginia. She earned her PhD at the University of California San Francisco. Her laboratory´s research focuses primarily on the cellular mechanisms of implantation and gastrulation in the mouse embryo and, in particular, the regulation of motility in the trophoblast cells of the implanting mouse blastocyst, and the cell behaviors leading to axial elongation in the mid-gestation embryo.

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