Identification of genes involved in neural crest development

了解胚胎发育过程中控制我们身体形成方式的基因，对于了解我们的身体系统如何在健康和疾病中发挥作用是必要的。然而，包括人类在内的脊椎动物的发育遗传学研究一直在非常间接地进行，主要是通过寻找与其他生物系统中发现的基因相似的基因，最著名的是果蝇。这项研究的意义在于，它将在脊椎动物发育过程中直接从选定的脊椎动物身体系统中识别发育基因。作为一个身体系统，我们将选择早期神经系统最基本的组成部分之一。这种积木是一个胚胎器官，称为神经脊，后来形成神经系统的重要部分，但除此之外，它还形成头部和面部的主要部分，颈部的腺体，从心脏出来的大动脉，以及皮肤中的色素细胞(黑素细胞)。了解这一器官的发育尤其重要，因为源自神经脊的组织最有可能发生出生缺陷和儿童癌症。关于神经脊发育的知识也告诉我们我们自己的进化，因为神经脊是唯一一个只在包括人类在内的脊椎动物中发现的主要系统。

Knowledge of the genes that during embryonic development control the way our bodies form is necessary to understanding how our body systems function in health and disease. However, research on the developmental genetics of vertebrates, including humans, has proceeded very indirectly, mostly by looking for genes similar to those found in other biological systems, most notably the fruit fly. The significance of this research is that it will identify developmental genes directly from the chosen vertebrate body system as it develops. As a body system we will choose one of the most basic building blocks of the very early nervous system. This building block is an embryonic organ called the Neural Crest that later goes on to form important parts of the nervous system, but in addition it also forms major parts of the head and face, glands in the neck, the large arteries leading out from the heart, and pigment cells (melanocytes) in the skin. It is particularly important to gain insight into development of this organ because the tissues that derive from the neural crest are the most at risk for birth defects and for childhood cancers. Knowledge of neural crest development also tells us about our own evolution, because the neural crest is the only major system found only in vertebrates including humans.