The Neural Crest in Development and Evolution

Knowledge of the development and evolution of the neural crest sheds light on many of the oldest unanswered questions in developmental biology. What is the role of germ layers in early embryogenesis? How does the nervous system develop? How does the vertebrate head arise developmentally and how did it arise evolutionarily? How do growth factors and Hox genes direct cell differenti­ ation and embryonic patterning? What goes wrong when development is misdi­ rected by mutations or by exposure ...