The current trend in developmental biology research is to identify candidate functional genes and then manipulate their expression or activity by either gain or loss of function to elucidate the specific roles of their protein products. One such procedure is the introduction of antigen-specific antibodies that are capable of precisely interfering with the function of a particular protein in a specific anatomical structure of the developing embryo. This technique, when performed correctly, proves to be a very powerful tool when investigating the presumed function of a specific protein.
