Development of Sea Urchins, Ascidians, and Other Invertebrate Deuterostomes: Experimental Approaches

Book excerpt: This book provides a practical guide to experimental methods for studying the development of invertebrate deuterostomes, such as sea urchins, ascidians, hemichordates, and amphioxus. These model organisms are of contemporary and historical importance to the study of developmental biology, particularly genomic research. The chapters provide detailed experimental protocols that cover a broad range of topics in modern experimental methods. Topics covered range from rearing embryos to the care of adult animals, while also presenting the basic experimental methods including light and electron microscopy, used to study gene expression, transgenics, reverse genetics, and genomic approaches. * Covers a wide range of methods, from classical embryology through modern genomics * Discusses animals related to vertebrates, providing a valuable evolutionary perspective * Includes a practical guide to the use of sea urchins in the teaching laboratory