Xiong Fengzhu, Megason Sean G
Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Integr Biol (Camb). 2015 Jun;7(6):633-42. doi: 10.1039/c5ib00025d.
Here we look at modern developmental biology with a focus on the relationship between different approaches of investigation. We argue that direct imaging is a powerful approach not only for obtaining descriptive information but also for model generation and testing that lead to mechanistic insights. Modeling, on the other hand, conceptualizes imaging data and provides guidance to perturbations. The inquiry progresses most efficiently when a trinity of approaches—quantitative imaging (measurement), modeling (theory) and perturbation (test)—are pursued in concert, but not when one approach is dominant. Using recent studies of the zebrafish system, we show how this combination has effectively advanced classic topics in developmental biology compared to a perturbation-centric approach. Finally, we show that interdisciplinary expertise and perhaps specialization are necessary for carrying out a systematic approach, and discuss the technical hurdles.
在这里，我们着眼于现代发育生物学，重点关注不同研究方法之间的关系。我们认为，直接成像不仅是获取描述性信息的有力方法，也是生成和测试模型以获得机制性见解的有力方法。另一方面，建模将成像数据概念化，并为扰动提供指导。当定量成像（测量）、建模（理论）和扰动（测试）这三种方法协同进行时，探究进展最为高效，但当一种方法占主导时则不然。利用斑马鱼系统的最新研究，我们展示了与以扰动为中心的方法相比，这种组合如何有效地推进了发育生物学中的经典课题。最后，我们表明跨学科专业知识乃至专业化对于实施系统方法是必要的，并讨论了技术障碍。
