Cell movement and its control in morphogenesis

Abstract

Research in the field of morphogenesis is largely concerned with trying to understand the co-ordinated movements of cells and cell populations. For example, the dramatic morphogenetic changes which occur during amphibian gastrulation (see Chapter 1) are spatially and temporally co-ordinated movements of large groups of cells. The endoderm and mesoderm begin invagination at the end of blastulation and by the end of gastrulation, have moved from the surface of the embryo to the inside. The internal arrangement which they achieve is the basic plan for the tissue arrangements in the fully developed organism, and the correct spatial arrangement of tissues in the gastrula is crucial for the next stages of development.