Programmed Cell Death (PCD) is a broad term used to describe a series of events that culminate in the death of specific cells. In the embryo it occurs at predictable stages and tissues. During mouse development, PCD is a mechanism to preserve the homeostasis of the growing organism, and also is needed for t ...

While gene targeting methods have largely supplanted cell/explant culture models for studying developmental processes, they have not eliminated the need for or value of such approaches in the investigator’s technical arsenal. Explant culture models, such as those devised for the me ...

Image analysis is vital for extracting quantitative information from biological images and is used extensively, including investigations in developmental biology. The technique commences with the segmentation (delineation) of objects of interest from 2D images or 3D image st ...

Gene transfer techniques such as electroporation and lipofection are powerful systems for investigating gene function. In this chapter we focus on the methods and applications of gene transfer into specific cells and tissues of post-implantation mouse embryos.

Forward and reverse genetics now enable researchers to understand embryonic and postnatal gene functioning in a wide range of species. Some genetic mutations cause obvious morphological change, whereas other mutations can lead to more subtle phenotypes and might be overlooked with ...

Supraventricular tachycardias are the most prevalent group of arrhythmias observed in the fetus and infant and their incidence increases through early childhood. The molecular pathogenesis of embryonic cardiac dysfunction is poorly understood, due in part to the absence of imagi ...

The experimental manipulation of mid-gestation mouse embryos is an important tool for the study of developmental biology. However, such techniques can be challenging due to difficulties accessing the embryos in utero, and therefore the ability to maintain mid-gestation mouse embr ...

Since the inception of modern embryo culture media over 50 years ago there have been significant developments in culture systems for the mammalian preimplantation embryo. Carbohydrate gradients have been shown to impact embryo physiology and viability, while amino acids have been de ...

Cryopreservation facilitates long-term storage of gametes and embryos for numerous purposes. For example, cryobanking of unique mouse strains, particularly transgenic mice, offers important protection of valuable genetics. It also provides a practical solution for facili ...

Like all mammals, humans use chemosignals. Nevertheless, only few such chemosignals have been identified. Here we describe an experimental arrangement that casts a wide net for the possible chemosignaling functions of target molecules. This experimental arrangement can be used in c ...

The initial interactions of mouse newborns with their mother are crucial for their survival. These interactions rapidly end in the pups reaching nipples and getting milk. While we realize that olfaction is clearly prevailing in the success of these first suckling episodes, we still unders ...

Behavioral testing methods are described for determining whether female mice can discriminate between volatile urinary pheromones of conspecifics of the same vs. opposite sex and/or in different endocrine conditions, for determining sexual partner preference, for quantify ...

Pheromone and odor signals play a pivotal role in male mouse reproductive behaviors, such as sexual and aggressive behavior. There are several methods used to assess male behaviors, each of which examines a unique aspect of the biological function of mice. There are two major ways of assessing male ...

The pheromone drop test is a simple and robust behavioral assay to quantify acute avoidance of pheromones in C. elegans, and the suppression of avoidance by attractive pheromones. In the pheromone drop test, water-soluble C. elegans pheromones are individually applied to animals that are fr ...

Environmental conditions experienced during early larval stages dictate the developmental trajectory of the nematode C. elegans. Favorable conditions such as low population density, abundant food, and lower temperatures allow reproductive growth, while stressful condi ...

The amenability to genetics of Drosophila melanogaster has made this organism one of the best-suited models for studying the neurobiology of pheromone-guided behavior. Single-male assays use the minigene encoding the thermosensitive channel dTrpA1 to activate neurons expres ...

Electrical recordings from individual accessory olfactory bulb neurons allow exploration of the functional properties of this important pheromonal processing circuit. Several approaches to performing such recordings have been used. Here, we describe ex vivo methods that we h ...

Mammalian vomeronasal neurons (VSNs) located in the sensory epithelium of the vomeronasal organ (VNO) detect and transduce molecular cues emitted by other individuals and send this information to the olfactory forebrain. The initial steps in the detection of pheromones and other che ...

Imaging permits the visualization of neural activity from the whole-mount vomeronasal sensory epithelium with single-cell resolution. The preparation preserves an intact tissue environment, enabling the robust detection of cellular responses upon chemical stimulation ...

Sensory neurons in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) are thought to mediate a specialized olfactory response. Currently, very little is known about the identity of stimulating ligands or their cognate receptors that initiate neural activation. Each sensory neuron is thought to express 1 of app ...