Laser-assisted microdissection (LAM) in developmental biology.

The analysis of gene expression in developing organs is a valuable tool for the assessment of genetic fingerprints during the various stages of differentiation. Complex processes in developing tissues are particularly difficult to understand in terms of biochemical phenomena. Laser-assisted microdissection (LAM) allows the efficient and precise capture of cells or groups of cells from developing tissues in sufficient quantities and within the context of time and space to permit the subsequent molecular characterization of the targeted tissue. The technique development has dramatically increased the ease of isolating specific cells which, together with progress in tissue preparation and microextraction protocols, allows for broad-range down-stream applications in the fields of genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics. This review gives an overview of the LAM technology and its application in developmental biology.