User:Mannintg/Germ Layers

Discovery and History

This section will discuss the work of Christian Pander, Karl Earnst von Baer and Heinrich Rathke whose work in discovering the different germ layers and their development helped to dispel the hypothesis of preformation. Also important to the study of germ layers are the different techniques used to differentiate and study the development of the endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm.

Triploblastic Organisms

The current page makes a small reference to the difference between triploblastic and diploblastic organisms but does a poor job of explaining the differences in the context of evolutionary adaptation. How does having three germ layers benefit an organism? What were the first organisms to evolve to become triploblastic? These questions are not addressed in the current page. also, this section will outline the major stages of development for germ layers and add more detail to the current development section on the germ layers page.

Endoderm

Since this page is focused on germ layers, we will leave many of the specifics of the endoderm to the development of the endoderm page. However, it is important to identify the role of the endoderm and identify some of the major stages of development and its importance in forming the digestive and respiratory tubes in the vertebrate body

Mesoderm

The mesoderm is specific to triploblastic organisms. Once again we will leave the more specific details to the mesoderm page development, but this section will focus on the different signaling and development processes that

Ectoderm

Currently, the section of the article on the ectoderm layer simply lists the various parts of the ectoderm, and which tissues the parts mature into in the adult organism. Wikipedia does already include a relatively detailed account of the neurulation process in the neurulation article, as well as a very detailed article on the neural crest

The ectoderm section of the Germ Layers article will include an account for how the ectoderm is differentiated from the other germ layers, and the determination process that preceeded this differentiation into a separate layer. The section will be improved to include a more detailed account of how the neurulation process gives rise to the central nervous system via the neural tube and how interaction with the other germ layers influences this using signalling from the mesoderm. This would not be to the same level of detail as the already adequate neurulation and neural crest articles, as this would be covering old ground and lose focus from the germ layers. In addition to the process of neurulation, the differentiation processes leading from the rest of the ectoderm to the epidermis, peripheral nervous system, and the other tissues descended from the ectoderm will also be described to the same degree of detail.

Diploblastic Organisms

There will be a section dedicated to germ layer formation in diploblastic organisms which lack a mesoderm. this topic is largely overlooked on the current page.

Division of Labor

Dick will cover the ectoderm development as well as an overview of discovery and history. Tadala will update the section on endoderm development as well the difference between diploblastic and triploblastic organism germ layers. TJ will reserach the mesoderm development