ABSTRACT
Neural crest cells have been at the forefront of research on vertebrate development and evolution for over 150 years. These stem cells have the ability to create almost all of the cell types and structures that define the vertebrate clade, including the craniofacial skeleton, peripheral sensory nervous system, striking patterns of pigmentation, and much more. Our understanding of neural crest development has necessarily drawn upon research from diverse developmental models, including, fish, birds, and mammals. However, many of the early, fundamental insights into how these cells develop were obtained in amphibian model systems, especially Xenopus. This chapter reviews the contributions of amphibian model systems to neural crest research, with a particular focus on work in Xenopus. We discuss the historical role of amphibian developmental models in the early years of neural crest research and provide an overview of current thinking on neural crest development from a molecular and genomic perspective.
