As a modern composite scientific discipline, Cell Biology has expanded and moved forward rapidly in recent years. Cell Biologists now require a wide range of techniques, including those of analytical biochemistry and microscopy in all its diverse forms. These are often used alongside the techniques of molecular biology and molecular genetics. This book contains numerous useful protocols, covering light and electron microscopy, cell culture, cell separation, subcellular fractionation, organelle and membrane isolation, and the use of in vitro reassembly systems in Cell Biology. Many of these protocols feature helpful notes and safety information for practical application. The format favours easy use at the bench with space for notes and important safety information. An appendix contains essential analytical information that will prove invaluable to those working on all aspects of cell biology. This book will be of interest to students and more experienced cell biologists, as well as molecular biologists and those working in genomics and proteomics who are looking for cellular techniques to validate their findings within intact cells.

The process whereby a single cell, the fertilized egg, develops into an adult has fascinated for centuries. Great progress in understanding that process, h- ever, has been made in the last two decades, when the techniques of molecular biology have become available to developmental biologists. By applying these techniques, the exact nature of many of the interactions responsible for forming the body pattern are now being revealed in detail. Such studies are a large, and it seems ever-expanding, part of most life-science groups. It is at newcomers to this field that this book is primarily aimed. A number of different plants and animals serve as common model org- isms for developmental studies. In Molecular Methods in Developmental Bi- ogy: Xenopus and Zebrafish, a range of the molecular methods applicable to two of these organisms are described, these are the South African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, and the zebrafish, Brachydanio rerio. The embryos of both of these species develop rapidly and externally, making them particularly suited to investigations of early vertebrate development. However, both Xenopus and zebrafish have their own advantages and disadvantages. Xenopus have large, robust embryos that can be manipulated surgically with ease, but their pseudotetraploidy and long generation time make them unsuitable candidates for genetics. This disadvantage may soon be overcome by using the diploid Xenopus tropicalis, and early experiments are already underway. The transp- ent embryos of zebrafish render them well-suited for in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, and good for observing mutations in genetic screens.

Most people have some interest in embryos; this probably results, in part, from their interest in understanding the biological origins of themselves and their offspring and, increasingly, concerns about how environmental change such as pollution might affect human development. Obviously, et- cal considerations preclude experimental studies of human embryos and, c- sequently, the developmental biologist has turned to other species to examine this process. Fortunately, the most significant conclusion to be drawn from the experimental embryology of the last two decades is the manner in which orthologous or closely related molecules are deployed to mediate similar - velopmental processes in both vertebrates and invertebrates. The molecular mechanisms regulating processes fundamental to most animals, such as axial patterning or axon guidance, are frequently conserved during evolution. (It is now widely believed that the differences between phyla and classes are the result of new genes, arising mostly by duplication and divergence of extant sequences, regulating the appearance of derived characters. ) Other vertebrates are obviously most likely to use the same devel- mental mechanisms as humans and, within the vertebrate subphylum, the - parent degree of conservation of developmental mechanism is considerable. It has long been recognized that particular vertebrate species offer either d- tinct advantages in investigating particular stages of development or are - pecially amenable to particular manipulations. No single animal can provide all the answers because not all types of experiments can be carried out on a single species.

Plants come in myriads of shapes and colors, and the beauty of plants has fascinated mankind for thousands of years. Long before Mendel discovered the laws of heritab- ity and Darwin developed his theory on evolution, the affection for ornamental plants led people to select alleles that establish novel plant forms. Today, plant developmental biology tries to discover the mechanisms that control the establishment of specialized cell types, tissues, and organs from the fertilized egg during a plant’s life. Although the underlying processes of cell proliferation and differentiation are similar in plants and a- mals, plants are different because their development is usually open, and its outcome is not the faithful repetition of a general plan but is strongly in?uenced by environm- tal conditions. In the last few decades, plant developmental biology has pinpointed a large number of developmental regulators and their interactions and the mechanisms that govern plant development start to emerge. In part, this progress was enabled by the advance of powerful molecular tools for a few model species, most importantly Arabidopsis. This volume of the Methods in Molecular Biology series provides a collection of protocols for many of the common experimental approaches in plant developmental bi- ogy. All chapters are written in the same format as that used in the Methods in Molecular TM Biology series. Each chapter opens with a description of the basic theory behind the method being described.

This fully updated book collects numerous data mining techniques, reflecting the acceleration and diversity of the development of data-driven approaches to the life sciences. The first half of the volume examines genomics, particularly metagenomics and epigenomics, which promise to deepen our knowledge of genes and genomes, while the second half of the book emphasizes metabolism and the metabolome as well as relevant medicine-oriented subjects. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include the kind of detail and expert implementation advice that is useful for getting optimal results. Authoritative and practical, Data Mining for Systems Biology: Methods and Protocols, Second Edition serves as an ideal resource for researchers of biology and relevant fields, such as medical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural sciences, as well as for the scientists and engineers who are working on developing data-driven techniques, such as databases, data sciences, data mining, visualization systems, and machine learning or artificial intelligence that now are central to the paradigm-altering discoveries being made with a higher frequency.

Protocols used in Molecular Biology is a compilation of several examples of molecular biology protocols. Each example is presented with a concise introduction, materials and chemicals required, a step-by-step procedure and troubleshooting tips. Information about the application of the protocol is also provided. The techniques included in this book are essential to research in the fields of proteomics, genomics, cell culture, epigenetic modification and structural biology. The protocols can also be used by clinical researchers (neuroscientists and oncologists, for example) for medical applications (diagnostics, therapeutics and multidisciplinary projects).