Sea urchin eggs are objects of wonder for the student who sees them for the first time under the microscope. The formation of the fertil ization membrane after insemination, the beauty of mitotic cleavage, the elegant swimming of embryos, remain an esthetic pleasure even for the eyes of seasoned investigators. But sea urchin eggs have other, more practical, advantages: they lend themselves to surgical operation without difficulty and they heal perfectly; they can be obtained in very large amounts and represent thus an extremely favorable material for biochemists and molecular embryologists. It is not surprising that, in view of these exceptional advantages, sea urchin eggs have attracted the interest of innumerable biologists since O. HERTWIG discovered the fusion of the pronuclei (amphimixy), in Paracentrotus lividus, almost a century ago. The purpose of the present book is to present, in a complete and orderly fashion, the enormous amount of information which has been gathered, in the course of a hun dred years of sea urchin embryology. JOSEPH NEEDHAM, in 1930, was still able to present all that was known, at that time, on the biochemistry of all possible species of developing eggs and embryos in his famous "Chemical Embryology" (Cambridge University Press) . It would no longer be possible for one man to write a modern version of what was a "Bible" for the young embryologists of forty years ago.
Author(s): S. Hörstadius (auth.), Professor Dr. G. Czihak (eds.)
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
Year: 1975
Language: English
Pages: 702
Tags: Life Sciences, general; Biomedicine general
Front Matter....Pages I-XIX
Introductory History....Pages 1-9
Care and Handling of Sea Urchin Eggs, Embryos, and Adults (Principally North American Species)....Pages 10-25
Handling Japanese Sea Urchins and Their Embryos....Pages 26-40
Maturation Periods of European Sea Urchin Species....Pages 41-41
Gametogenesis....Pages 42-98
Fertilization....Pages 99-147
Parthenogenetic Activation and Development....Pages 148-169
Cytology of Parthenogenetically Activated Sea Urchin Eggs....Pages 170-176
Normal Development to Metamorphosis....Pages 177-232
Cellular Behavior and Cytochemistry in Early Stages of Development....Pages 233-266
Egg and Embryo Ultrastructure....Pages 267-307
The Biophysics of Cleavage and Cleavage of Geometrically Altered Cells....Pages 308-332
Centrifugation and Alteration of Cleavage Pattern....Pages 333-344
Irradiation, Chemical Treatment, and Cleavage-Cycle and Cleavage-Pattern Alteration....Pages 345-363
Isolation and Transplantation Experiments....Pages 364-406
Blastomere Reaggregation....Pages 407-423
Morphology and Biochemistry of Diploid and Androgenetic Haploid (Merogonic) Hybrids....Pages 424-472
Animalization and Vegetalization....Pages 473-509
Respiration and Energy Metabolism....Pages 510-549
Carbohydrate Metabolism and Related Enzymes....Pages 550-607
Lipids....Pages 608-629
DNA in Gametes and Early Development....Pages 630-645
Integrating Factors....Pages 646-670
Back Matter....Pages 671-702
