McCauley, D.W.*; Bronner-Fraser, M.: Cranial neural crest cell migration in the lamprey Petromyzon marinus The neural crest is a vertebrate-specific population of cells that gives rise to much of the peripheral nervous system, pigment cells, and many craniofacial derivatives including facial bones, cartilage, teeth, and cranial ganglia. We have begun to investigate the origin of […]

NGUYEN, L*; LECLAIR, E.E.: Ontogenetic expression of plunc, a mouse marker for selected derivatives of the pharyngeal epithelium. In mammalian development the lung and thymus both form from local expansions of the embryonic gut tube. The thymus arises from ventral elongations of the third pharyngeal pouch, while the lung tree starts as a ventral outpouching […]

CARL, T.F.*; KLYMKOWSKY, M.W.; HANKEN, J.: Multiple functions for the gene Slug in Xenopus laevis The neural crest is a distinct population of embryonic cells found only in craniates. Several genes, including BMP-4and the zinc-finger transcription factor Slug, have been shown to mediate neural crest development in both chickens and mice. We examined the function […]

Woodard, A.*; Shardo, J.: Morphological changes associated with the development of feeding in red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus). The formation of a functional feeding apparatus in larval teleosts is a finely tuned, functionally integrated set of processes. We examined the formation of the feeding apparatus in the larval red snapper from hatching (22 hr postfertilization) through […]

Maglia, A.*; Buchholz, D.R.: Heterochrony and patterns of osteogenesis in pelobatoid frogs Change in developmental timing is commonly cited as the source of morphological evolution in anurans (and vertebrates in general). Despite the warnings of Fink (1982), very few studies suggesting heterochrony as the cause of variation in anuran morphology have tested their hypotheses in […]

DEAROLF, J.L.*; MCLELLAN, W.A.; PABST, D.A.; HERMANSON, J.W.: Diaphragm muscle development in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Being born directly into an aquatic environment creates unique challenges for the breathing muscles of neonatal cetaceans. Not only must these muscles be active at the instant of birth to allow for gas exchange, but their activities must also […]

SMITH, M.H.; WILLIAMS, N.L.; STELLWAG, E.J.; SCEMAMA, J.L.*: Characterization of a novel Hox group gene 1 from Morone saxatilis Hox genes are transcription factors that control regional specification of tissues in developing embryos. Our laboratory is working toward the complete characterization of the Hox cluster genes from Morone saxitilis, a member of the order Perciformes. […]

McBrayer, L.D.*; Reilly, S.M.: The variation in feeding behavior of scleroglossan and autarchoglossan lizards One of the primary goals of functional morphology is the quantification of behavior in relation to morphological variation. The two major clades of lizards, scleroglossa and autarchoglossa, show substantial variation in cranial morphology, hyoid apparatus, tongue musculature, and the functional morphology […]

MEYERS, J.J.*; HERREL, A.; NISHIKAWA, K.C.: Morphological Specializations of the Feeding System in Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma) Lizards of the genus Phrynosoma have long been noted as dietary specialists, feeding predominately on various species of ants. Several studies looking at the diet of the fourteen different species of Phrynosoma have noted that there appears to be […]

STARCK, J.M.: Morphological Flexibility of the Intestine of Snakes The small intestine of snakes responds to feeding by rapid upregulation of organ size. After absorption of nutrients the small intestine size is down regulated to fasting size. The mechanisms of the morphological flexibility of the small intestine are compared in Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) […]