Of Fish, Fly, Worm, and Man

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-XV

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2. Interactions Between Wingless and Frizzled Molecules in Drosophila

   • R. Nusse, E. Rulifson, M. Fish, C. Harryman-Samos, M. Brink, C-h. Wu et al.

   Pages 1-11

3. The Heterotrimeric G Protein Genes of Caenorhabditis elegans

   • G. Jansen, K. L. Thijssen, P. Werner, M. van der Horst, E. Hazendonk, R. H. A. Plasterk

   Pages 13-34

4. Programmed Cell Death and Its Regulation and Initiation in C. elegans

   • B. Conradt

   Pages 35-55

5. Presenilin Proteins and Their Function During Embryonic Development and Alzheimer’s Disease

   • C. Haass

   Pages 57-64

6. Cell—Cell Interaction During Drosophila Embryogenesis: Novel Mechanisms and Molecules

   • M. Affolter

   Pages 65-79

7. The Roles of BMPs, BMP Antagonists, and the BMP Signaling Transducers Smad1 and Smad5 During Dorsoventral Patterning of the Zebrafish Embryo

   • M. Hild, A. Dick, H. Bauer, S. Schulte-Merker, P. Haffter, T. Bouwmeester et al.

   Pages 81-106

8. Genetic Dissection of Heart Development

   • J.-N. Chen, M. C. Fishman

   Pages 107-122

9. Eph Receptors and Ephrins Are Key Regulators of Morphogenesis

   • N. Holder, L. Durbin, J. Cooke, Stephen Wilson

   Pages 123-149

10. Eph Receptor Tyrosine Kinases and Their Ligands in Development

    • U. Drescher

    Pages 151-164

11. Embryonic Patterning of Xenopus Mesoderm by Bmp-4

    • C. Niehrs, R. Dosch, D. Onichtchouk

    Pages 165-190

12. The Indian Hedgehog — PTHrP System in Bone Development

    • A. Vortkamp

    Pages 191-209

13. Hedgehog Signaling in Animal Development and Human Disease

    • E. C. Bailey, M. P. Scott, R. L. Johnson

    Pages 211-235

14. Back Matter

    Pages 237-243

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The first complete genome sequence of a multicellular organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, has been determined recently. Several more will follow soon, among them the genome sequences of Drosophila melanogaster and the human. With these achievements, the stage is set for the next phase of "large-scale" biology, the study of the function of genes and the interactions between their protein products. The aim of the Ernst Schering Research Foundation Workshop 29 was to discuss the contribution of research on model organisms which are particularly suited for genetic and biological research, to the understanding of gen­ eral principles of biology as well as the basis for human diseases. This area of research has not only unveiled the basic molecular mechanisms of development of higher organisms, but has also made major contri­ butions to the elucidation of complex signal transduction pathways that play crucial roles both in ontogeny and human diseases. Establishing the complete molecular anatomy of an organism is a demanding but rather well-defined task. However, compared to the technical and scientific challenges of large-scale sequencing and the bioinformatics analysis of complete genome data, the assignment of function to the genes of multicellular organisms may still seem like a fishing expedition, with no universal road to success. One approach is based on large-scale technologies. The use of mi­ croarrays for multiple gene expression analysis is one element in this effort, providing important information on the cell- or tissue-specific activation of genes over time.

• Alzheimer's disease
• Drosophila
• biology
• cell
• cell death
• developmental biology
• gene
• genome
• genome sequences
• molecular mechanisms
• morphogenesis
• physiology
• programmed cell death
• protein
• regulation

• Abteilung Genetik, Max-Planck-Institut für Entwicklungsbiologie, Tübingen, Germany

  Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard

• Enabling Technologies, Preclinical Drug Research, Schering AG, Berlin, Germany

  Jörn Krätzschmar

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