From Entomological Research to Culturing Tissues: An Attempt to Retrace Aron Moscona’s Investigative Pathway

Contemporary models of development are the result of the encounter of different research traditions such as molecular genetics, cell biology and tissue and organ culture. While molecular genetics was a privileged focus of historical analysis, research in tissue and organ architecture did not experience the same pick of attention. The paper aims at exploring this sideline tradition in the history of developmental biology through a reconstruction of the itinerary of the developmental biologist Aron Moscona, pioneer in tissue and organ culture research. Moscona’s models of the role of cell adhesion in tissue and organ development are the result of an eclectic career spanning between diverse areas of zoology: between 1946-1950, Moscona pursued entomological research, dealing with developmental changes in the chemical composition of eggs of Bacillus libanicus. During his PhD, he made use of anatomical and histochemical methods in order to detect changes in the pancreatic cells of snakes and lizards during the reproductive cycle. Then, from the beginning of the 1950s, he analyzed histogenetic and organogenetic processes in the chick embryo through tissue and organ culture techniques. Moscona’s interest for development had an early start although the model organisms and the experimental techniques he made use of gradually changed throughout his career, bringing about or reflecting a visible change in the developmental questions he addressed. The paper records the evolution of Moscona’s scientific thought by providing a composite narrative where experimental practice, disciplinary training and cross-disciplinary influences orchestrate together to make accessible the scientist’s “investigative pathway”.