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The Intersection of Theory and Application inElucidating Pattern Formation in Developmental Biology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2009

H. G. Othmer*
Affiliation:
School of Mathematics and Digital Technology Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455 USA
K. Painter
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, Department of Mathematics and Maxwell, Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, UK
D. Umulis
Affiliation:
Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN USA 47907 USA
C. Xue
Affiliation:
Mathematical Biosciences Institute, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 USA
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Abstract

We discuss theoretical and experimental approaches to three distinctdevelopmental systems that illustrate how theory can influence experimental workand vice-versa. The chosen systems – Drosophila melanogaster,bacterial pattern formation, and pigmentation patterns – illustrate thefundamental physical processes of signaling, growth and cell division, and cellmovement involved in pattern formation and development. These systems exemplifythe current state of theoretical and experimental understanding of how theseprocesses produce the observed patterns, and illustrate how theoretical andexperimental approaches can interact to lead to a better understanding ofdevelopment. As John Bonner said long ago
`We have arrived at the stage where models are useful to suggestexperiments, and the facts of the experiments in turn lead to new and improvedmodels that suggest new experiments. By this rocking back and forth between thereality of experimental facts and the dream world of hypotheses, we can moveslowly toward a satisfactory solution of the major problems of developmentalbiology.'

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Type
Research Article
Copyright
© EDP Sciences, 2009

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