Most sexually reproducing metazoans are anisogamous, meaning that the two gametes that
combine during fertilization differ greatly in size. By convention, the larger gametes are …

Following fertilization, embryos develop for a substantial amount of time with a
transcriptionally silent genome. Thus, early development is maternally programmed, as it …

Vertebrate oocytes face a particular challenge concerning the regulation of gene expression
during meiotic maturation. Global transcription becomes quiescent in fully grown oocytes …

The selective translation of maternal mRNAs encoding cell-fate determinants drives the
earliest decisions of embryogenesis that establish the vertebrate body plan. This chapter will …

Eggs of all animals contain mRNAs and proteins that are supplied to or deposited in the egg
as it develops during oogenesis. These maternal gene products regulate all aspects of …

Fertilization is a very complex biological process that requires the perfect cooperation
between two highly specialized cells: the male and female gametes. The oocyte provides …

Transcriptional activation in mammalian embryos occurs in a stepwise manner. In mice, it
begins at the late one-cell stage, followed by a minor wave of activation at the early two-cell …

The initial phases of embryonic development occur in the absence of de novo transcription
and are instead controlled by maternally inherited mRNAs and proteins. During this initial …

Over 75 years ago, embryologists had already established that cytoplasmic components
could program early development even in the absence of nuclear material. Although …

Embryogenesis depends on a highly coordinated cascade of genetically encoded events. In
animals, maternal factors contributed by the egg cytoplasm initially control development …