The basic physiological and cellular mechanisms underlying early embryonic development from plants to humans are described.

Inhalt
General Introduction.- Late Stages in Gametogenesis.- 1 Isolation and characterization of the angiosperm gamete.- 2 The Cytoskeleton during pollen tube growth and sperm cell formation.- 3 The Cytostatic Factor (CSF) that causes metaphase arrest in amphibian eggs.- 4 Intrafollicular mechanisms mediating oocyte maturation.- 5 Tyrosine phosphorylation of MPF and membrane proteins during meiotic maturation of starfish oocytes.- 6 Protein synthesis and protein phosphorylation as regulators of MPF activity.- 7 Control of recruitment of preantral follicles in mammalian ovaries.- 8 Ultrastructure and AG staining of echinoderm spermatogenesis.- 9 Cell specific gene expression in mouse testis.- 10 Regulation of sperm motility by osmotic pressure.- 11 Dynamic changes in the perinuclear matrix during spermiogenesis and sperm maturation in the mouse.- 12 Reactive oxygen species and human sperm function.- Sperm Egg Interaction.- 13 Fertilization in Fucus: exploring the gamete cell surfaces with monoclonal antibodies.- 14 Gamete interaction and the initiation of egg activation in sea urchins.- 15 Self-incompatibility in Brassica: The nature and role of female glycoproteins.- 16 Induction of the acrosome reaction in starfish.- 17 New data and concepts in angiosperm fertilization.- 18 Structure and function of egg-associated peptides of sea urchins.- 19 Sperm-egg interaction in bivalves.- 20 Gamete interaction in ascidians: sperm binding and penetration through the vitelline coat.- 21 Cellular and molecular elements of mammalian fertilization.- 22 Micromanipulation in the study of sperm-egg interactions.- 23 Human sperm-oocyte fusion.- 24 Micro-insemination sperm transfer (M.I.S.T.) into human oocytes and embryos.- 25 Abnormalities of the human embryonic zona pellucida.- Egg Activation.- 26 The roles of intermembrane calcium in polarizing and activating eggs.- 27 Polyspermy blocks in fucoid algae and the occurence of polyspermy in Nature.- 28 How does a sperm activate a sea urchin egg?.- 29 The behaviour of sperm cells in cereal wide hybrids.- 30 Calcium signals during fertilization and ooplasmic segregation in the ascidian egg.- 31 Soluble sperm factors, electrical events and egg activation.- 32 Can the handling of oocytes influence the success of therapeutic in vitro fertilization?.- 33 Is the egg activation-induced intracellular pH increase necessary for the embryonic development of Xenopus laevis (Anuran Amphibian)?.- 34 The distribution and exocytosis of cortical granules in the mammal.- 35 Receptors, G-proteins and activation of the amphibian egg.- 36 Electrical maturation of the mouse oocyte.- 37 The contribution of Discoglossus pictus fertilization in the study of amphibian sperm-egg interaction.- Cytoplasmic Segregation in the Early Embryo.- 38 Intracellular signalling during fertilization and polarization in Fucoid algae.- 39 Mechanism of dorsoventral axis determination in the ascidian embryo.- 40 The insect oocyte: fertilization, activation and cytoplasmic dynamics.- 41 Fertilization in Ctenophores.- 42 The sea urchin egg: an old and new model.- 43 Collagen-binding proteins in sea urchin eggs and embryos.- 44 Evidence which supports the presence of stored messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) in the unfertilized eggs of Fucus serratus.- 45 Dorsal specification in the fertilized frog egg.- 46 The cytoskeleton and polyspermy in sea urchin eggs.- 47 Cell differentiation in the mouse preimplantation embryo.- 48 Fertilization and sex determination in the Rhizocephala (Cirripedia, Crustacea).