Branching morphogenesis, the creation of branched structures in the body, is a key feature of animal and plant development. This book brings together, for the first time, expert researchers working on a variety of branching systems to present a state-of-the-art view of the mechanisms that control branching morphogenesis. Systems considered range from single cells, to blood vessel and drainage duct systems to entire body plans, and approaches range from observation through experiment to detailed biophysical modelling. The result is an integrated overview of branching.
Molecular force sensors are a powerful tool for studying the mechanics of cells. These sensors not only provide information on the general mechanical behavior of cells but also can help elucidate the mechanical markers of disease formation and progression. For example, can we use cell mechanics as a biomarker to diagnose cancer? What are the mechanics associated with immune system function? Can cell mechanics be used to better understand the effect of drug treatments? The number of available questions in the field of mechanobiology is endless. After reading this e-book, you will be equipped with the information needed to begin designing your own molecular force sensors, and to begin answering the multitude of questions surrounding cell mechanobiology.
Cells in the developing embryo depend on signals from the extracellular environment to help guide their differentiation. An important mediator in this process is the extracellular matrix – secreted macromolecules that interact to form large protein networks outside the cell. During development, the extracellular matrix serves to separate adjacent cell groups, participates in establishing morphogenic gradients, and, through its ability to interact directly will cell-surface receptors, provides developmental clocks and positional information. This volume discusses how the extracellular matrix influences fundamental developmental processes and how model systems can be used to elucidate ECM function. The topics addressed range from how ECM influences early development as well as repair processes in the adult that recapitulate developmental pathways.
Our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in mammalian brain development remains limited. However, the last few years have wit nessed a quantum leap in our knowledge, due to technological improve ments, particularly in molecular genetics. Despite this progress, the available body of data remains mostly phenomenological and reveals very little about the grammar that organizes the molecular dictionary to articulate a pheno type. Nevertheless, the recent progress in genetics will allow us to contem plate, for the first time, the integration of observation into a coherent view of brain development. Clearly, this may be a major challenge for the next century, and arguably is the most important task of contemporary develop mental biology. The purpose of the present book is to provide an overview that syn thesizes up-to-date information on selected aspects of mouse brain devel opment. Given the format, it was not possible to cover all aspects of brain development, and many important subjects are missing. The selected themes are, to a certain extent, subjective and reflect the interests of the contributing authors. Examples of major themes that are not covered are peripheral nervous system development, including myelination, the development of the hippocampus and several other CNS structures, as well as the developmental function of some important morphoregulatory molecules.
An increasing population faces the growing demand for agricultural products and accurate global climate models that account for individual plant morphologies to predict favorable human habitat. Both demands are rooted in an improved understanding of the mechanistic origins of plant development. Such understanding requires geometric and topological descriptors to characterize the phenotype of plants and its link to genotypes. However, the current plant phenotyping framework relies on simple length and diameter measurements, which fail to capture the exquisite architecture of plants. The Research Topic “Morphological Plant Modeling: Unleashing Geometric and Topological Potential within the Plant Sciences” is the result of a workshop held at National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) in Knoxville, Tennessee. From 2.-4. September 2015 over 40 scientists from mathematics, computer science, engineering, physics and biology came together to set new frontiers in combining plant phenotyping with recent results from shape theory at the interface of geometry and topology. In doing so, the Research Topic synthesizes the views from multiple disciplines to reveal the potential of new mathematical concepts to analyze and quantify the relationship between morphological plant features. As such, the Research Topic bundles examples of new mathematical techniques including persistent homology, graph-theory, and shape statistics to tackle questions in crop breeding, developmental biology, and vegetation modeling. The challenge to model plant morphology under field conditions is a central theme of the included papers to address the problems of climate change and food security, that require the integration of plant biology and mathematics from geometry and topology research applied to imaging and simulation techniques. The introductory white paper written by the workshop participants identifies future directions in research, education and policy making to integrate biological and mathematical approaches and to strengthen research at the interface of both disciplines.
This volume aims to provide a timely view of the state-of-the-art in systems biology. The editors take the opportunity to define systems biology as they and the contributing authors see it, and this will lay the groundwork for future studies. The volume is well-suited to both students and researchers interested in the methods of systems biology. Although the focus is on plant systems biology, the proposed material could be suitably applied to any organism.
