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Evolution of the Neural Crest

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Neural Crest Induction and Differentiation

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((volume 589))

Abstract

The recent advances in studies of the neural crest in vertebrates and the analysis of basal chordates using molecular and embryological approaches have demonstrated that at least part of the genetic programs and the cellular behavior were in place in nonvertebrate chordates before the neural crest evolved. Nevertheless, both the missing aspects and the close similarities found could explain why basal chordates lack a bona fide neural crest population, even though some migratory neurons and pigment cells have been recently identified in ascidians and amphioxus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, CSIC-UMH, Apartado 18, Sant Joan d’ Alacant, 03550, Spain

    Alejandro Barrallo-Gimeno & M. Alejandro Nieto

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  1. Alejandro Barrallo-Gimeno
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  2. M. Alejandro Nieto
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Correspondence to M. Alejandro Nieto .

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  1. Department of Animal Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Jean-Pierre Saint-Jeannet Ph.D.

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Barrallo-Gimeno, A., Nieto, M.A. (2006). Evolution of the Neural Crest. In: Saint-Jeannet, JP. (eds) Neural Crest Induction and Differentiation. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 589. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-46954-6_15

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