Concepts in Reproduction integrates the principal mechanisms of reproduction among eukaryotes, with a focus on animals and plants. The text emphasizes processes and approaches that evolved to address specific problems inherent in reproduction using examples from morphology, functional studies, and genetic studies. The many high-quality figures complement the text and provide visual storyboards. Footnotes and boxes are used throughout to provide depth and to enrich understanding. Information is compartmentalized to guide new readers through complex material while offering in-depth coverage of significant and impactful topics for experts.
Key Features:
- Accessibility for a broad audience, using figures that complement the text to explain key concepts and mechanisms
- Integrative presentation that emphasizes the science behind the story
- Breadth of coverage to promote comparative thought
- Rich multiple choice questions that span the content
Concepts in Reproduction is recommended for advanced undergraduate students, new graduate students, and investigators or clinicians seeking breadth in their knowledge in the field. The book provides foundational knowledge of fertilization, gametogenesis, primordial germ cell formation, and ontogeny of reproductive organs. Key principles of developmental biology, genetics, endocrinology, protein biochemistry, and molecular and cellular biology are included to tell holistic stories of reproduction among eukaryotes. Later chapters tackle how the field applies these findings to address societal issues.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Eukaryotes and Sexual Reproduction
2. Meiosis
3. Diversity in Reproduction
4. Hormones and Signaling
5. The Egg
6. Sperm
7. Supporting Cells
8. Sperm-Egg Interaction
9. The Egg-to-Embryo Transition
10. Formation of Primordial Germ Cells
11. Primordial Germ Cells Migrate to the Gonad
12. Germ-line Stem Cells
13. Sex Determination
14. The Ovary: Where Female Gametes are Made
15. Making Male Gametes
16. Hermaphroditism & Sex Transitioning
17. Neuroendocrine Control of Reproduction
18. A Lifetime of Reproduction
19. Mechanisms of Mate Attraction
20. Development of Permanent Reproductive Structures
21. Reproductive Structures and their Functions
22. The Female Reproductive Tract: A Zone of Sexual Conflict
23. Orchids
24. Cnidaria
25. A Bird’s View
26. Primates
27. Human Infertility
28. Assisted Reproductive Techniques
29. Technologies to Constrain Reproduction
30. Reproduction in a Changing World
Glossary
Index
About the Author :
Gary M. Wessel, PhD, Professor of Biology at Brown University, is an experienced researcher in the field of reproduction and early development. He served as Editor-in-Chief and as a member of the editorial board of several journals in the area of reproduction and development.
Julian L. Wong, PhD, is an active scientist working to identify novel therapeutics. He previously worked on fertilization and cellular reprogramming, and served for a decade as the Managing Editor for a reproduction journal.
Carmen J. Williams, MD, PhD, Senior Investigator at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, has studied basic and clinical reproductive biology for more than thirty-five years and published extensively in the field. She was an Associate Editor for two reproduction journals and co-directed the Frontiers in Reproduction summer research course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole, MA).
Mark A. Johnson, PhD, Professor of Biology at Brown University, has studied plant reproduction for twenty-five years. He is on the Board of the International Association of Sexual Plant Reproduction Research and hosted the 27th International Congress on Sexual Plant Reproduction in 2024.
Harvey Florman, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His research focused on aspects of fertilization and sperm physiology in mammals. He was Editor-in-Chief of journals in the field and directed the Frontiers in Reproduction summer research course at the Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole, MA).
