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E. E. Just, Johannes Holtfreter, and the origin of certain concepts in embryo morphogenesis
Author(s) -
Byrnes W. Malcolm
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.452.1
Subject(s) - morphogenesis , biology , embryo , gastrulation , ectoderm , evolutionary biology , cognitive science , microbiology and biotechnology , embryogenesis , genetics , psychology , gene
Ernest E. Just (1883–1941) is best known for his his elucidation of what are known as the fast and slow blocks to polyspermy during fertilization. Just's contemporary Johannes Holtfreter (1901–1992) is known for his work on amphibian morphogenesis, which helped to lay the foundation for modern vertebrate developmental biology. After giving a brief biographical sketch and outlining his scientific contributions, this poster will argue that Just's work and ideas strongly influenced two of the concepts for which Holtfreter is best known: tissue affinity and autoinduction. First, Just's experiments demonstrating developmental stage‐specific changes in the adhesiveness of the blastomeres of cleavage embryos helped lay the foundation for Holtfreter's concept of tissue affinity. Second, Just's notion of the intrinsic irritability of the egg cell strongly informed Holtfreter's concept of the non‐specific induction of neural tissue formation in amphibian gastrula ectoderm explants. Acknowledgment of these contributions by Just in no way diminishes the importance of Holtfreter's groundbreaking work. It does, however, extend the impact of Just's work into the area of embryo morphogenesis. It connects Just to Holtfreter and positions his work as an antecedent to embryo research that continues to this day. Supported by grants from the NIH RCMI and MBRS‐SCORE programs, and the NSF.