Cell Fusion -- Yeast Mating -- Cell Fusion in the Filamentous Fungus, Neurospora crassa -- Gametic Cell Adhesion and Fusion in the Unicellular Alga Chlamydomonas -- Cell Fusion in Caenorhabditis elegans -- Myoblast Fusion in Drosophila -- Mammalian Fertilization Is Dependent on Multiple Membrane Fusion Events* -- Molecular Control of Mammalian Myoblast Fusion -- Placenta Trophoblast Fusion -- Macrophage Fusion -- Cell Fusion Assays -- Cell Fusion Assays for Yeast Mating Pairs -- Ultrastructural Analysis of Cell Fusion in Yeast -- Isolation and In Vitro Binding of Mating Type Plus Fertilization Tubules From Chlamydomonas -- Optical Imaging of Cell Fusion and Fusion Proteins in C aenorhabditis elegans -- Ultrastructural Imaging of Cell Fusion in Caenorhabditis elegans -- Live Imaging of Drosophila Myoblast Fusion -- Ultrastructural Analysis of Myoblast Fusion in Drosophila -- A Genomic Approach to Myoblast Fusion in Drosophila -- Mesenchymal Cell Fusion in the Sea Urchin Embryo -- Sperm–Egg Fusion Assay in Mammals -- Quantitative Assays for Cell Fusion -- Fusion Assays and Models for the Trophoblast -- Methods to Fuse Macrophages In Vitro.

Exciting work in the past decade has revealed commonalities and differences among individual cell fusion events. In Cell Fusion: Overviews and Methods, a team of leading experts provide a collection of overviews that outline our current understanding of cell fusion and methods that present classic and state-of-the-art experimental approaches in a variety of systems. Divided into two convenient parts, the volume begins with nine overviews which describe different cell fusion events in models from yeast to mammals, and it continues with thirteen chapters illustrating commonly used methods to assay cell fusion in particular systems. As a part of the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series, these methods chapters compile step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols with lists of the necessary materials and reagents, along with tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Cutting-edge and user-friendly, Cell Fusion: Overviews and Methods serves as a comprehensive resource for anyone, expert or novice, interested in the fascinating biological process of cell fusion.