Product Description

Many of the 14,000 genes of Drosophila are involved in the development of imaginal discs. These hollow sacs of cells make adult structures during metamorphosis, and their study is crucial to comprehending how a larva becomes a fully-functioning fly. This book examines the genetic circuitry of the well-known ‘fruit fly’, tackling questions of cell assemblage and pattern formation, of the hows and the whys behind the development of the fly. After an initial examination of the proximity versus pedigree imperatives, the book delves into bristle pattern formation and disc development, with entire chapters devoted to the leg, wing, and eye. Extensive appendices include a glossary of protein domains, catalogues of well-studied genes, and an outline of signaling pathways. More than 30 wiring diagrams among over 60 detailed schematics clarify the text. No student or practising scientist engaged in the study of Drosophila genetics should be without this comprehensive reference.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2791159 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 476 pages

Review
'… figures and their legends … packed full of more information than most text books. The appendices, especially the compendia of genes affecting particular processes are useful. Imaginal Discs would be a useful read for anyone interested in pattern formation generally, and should be required for workers in Drosophila patterning.' BioEssays

'How wonderful to have such a complete guide and extensive review of imaginal disc development. The comprehensive nature of this book makes it an essential reference. … a wonderful teaching resource. … read and enjoy the history behind the models!' Genetical Research

Customer Reviews

A fascinating cornucopia of models
The genetic analysis of the development of imaginal discs - communities of cells from which the external structures of the adult fly emerge during metamorphosis - has provided many key insights into the workings of evolutionarily-conserved developmental mechanisms. This book delves deeply into the intricacies of imaginal discs, with the aim of providing a comprehensive reference guide to the field. But this is no laboratory manual; rather, it is a fascinating cornucopia of historical and current theoretical models. Held's approach is to use deductive reasoning to interpret genetic data in a conceptual framework, and while the experimental data receive ample and clear coverage, the emphasis is squarely on models and how data can be used to either support or disprove them.

This is an unusual format for a book on developmental genetics. While everybody working in the field uses models (at least implicitly) to direct and order their thinking, overt discussion of the models is typically relegated to small schematics in the discussion section of papers. Here, the models take centre stage. The descriptions of the historical development of some of the more well established models are very illuminating and capture well both the stunning progress that has been made, and the twists and turns of the paths taken to achieve the current models. In highlighting these convoluted paths, the book illustrates clearly one of the key features of a good model?that it is, by necessity, "wrong", but that it is wrong in a useful way. The best models are always staging posts on the route to a deeper understanding (and improved model).

A particularly striking feature of the book is the gargantuan bibliography. Comprising 4900 entries, and taking up nearly a third of the book, it is more than comprehensive! What I particularly like about it is that it is so much broader in scope than one might imagine; in addition to the requisite references on imaginal discs, there are entries charting a way into related (but perhaps peripheral) areas such as noise in gene networks and patterning by reaction-diffusion models. This has a potential downside though, in that it is very easy to spend a great deal of time flicking backwards and forwards between the bibliography and the main text, losing the thread in the meantime... It is clear that much attention has been paid to the figures, and they convey the logic of the developmental systems well. However, I did find the absence of any micrographs of real imaginal discs disappointing. It is important to keep in mind what is actually being modelled here, and a few such figures would serve to "ground" the theoretical discussion.

So who (or what) is this book for? It is not an introduction; knowledge of fly development and the standard techniques of molecular and classical genetics are assumed. It can be dipped into as a reference on specific processes (e.g. bristle spacing), but is by no means exhaustive, and it isn't always easy to locate a particular topic. On the positive side, the glossaries of protein domains and key genes involved in imaginal disc development are useful resources that are instantly accessible. But the book is really aimed at those who already have a working knowledge of fly development and who want to see in detail the interplay between experimental data and theoretical models, and how this affects our way of looking at developing systems. There is no discussion of mathematical formulations of the models, so the book is accessible to anybody with a background in fly development. Finally, all books age, and those dealing with developmental biology tend to age particularly quickly. The theoretical and historical emphasis of this book should help it to age gracefully.

Nick Monk, Sheffield