RESUMO
It has not gone unnoticed in recent times that historical writing about science is heavily Eurocentric. A striking example can be found in the history of developmental biology: textbooks and popular science writing frequently trace an intellectual thread from the Greek philosopher Aristotle through 19th century embryology to 20th century genetics. Few in our field are aware of the depth and breadth of early embryological thinking outside of Europe. Here, I provide a series of vignettes highlighting the rich history of embryological thinking in Asia and Latin America. My goal is to provide an entertaining, even provocative, synopsis of this important but under-studied topic. It is my hope that this work will spur others to carry out more thorough investigations, with the ultimate goal of building a more inclusive discipline.
Assuntos
Biologia do Desenvolvimento/história , Embriologia/história , Ásia , Europa (Continente) , Grécia , História do Século XIX , História do Século XX , Humanos , América Latina , MéxicoRESUMO
The vast majority of embryological research on amphibians focuses on just a single genus of frogs, Xenopus. To attain a more comprehensive understanding of amphibian development, experimentation on non-model frogs will be essential. Here, we report on the early development, rearing, and embryological analysis of túngara frogs (genus Engystomops, also called Physalaemus). The frogs Engystomops pustulosus, Engystomops coloradorum, and Engystomops randi construct floating foam-nests with small eggs. We define a table of 23 stages for the developmental period in the foam-nest. Embryos were immunostained against Lim1, neural, and somite-specific proteins and the expression pattern of RetinoBlastoma Binding Protein 6 (RBBP6) was analyzed by in situ hybridization. Due to their brief life-cycle, frogs belonging to the genus Engystomops are attractive for comparative and genetic studies of development. Developmental Dynamics 238:1444-1454, 2009. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.