The Role of the Small GTPases Rho and Rac in Xenopus Gastrulation

This book focuses on understanding the molecular basis for gastrulation, the first and foremost event of embryo morphogenesis. It describes the molecular control of tissue rearrangements during gastrulation, a tightly regulated process that ensures that individual cells predictably reach their final destinations in the developing embryo. The experimental methods used to support the research presented here employ basic techniques of cell biology and microscopy in highly creative ways. They describe for the first time reproducible and quantifiable visual assays that can measure cell movements and cell shape changes in vivo, in the developing embryo. Originally published as a peer-reviewed manuscript in 2003, this work has been cited by more than 150 influential scientific articles, and is considered a classic in the fields of cell biology and molecular morphogenesis.