During oogenesis, mammalian eggs accumulate proteins required for early embryogenesis.
Although limited data suggest a vital role of these maternal factors in chromatin …

Oocyte quality is a critical factor limiting the efficiency of assisted reproductive technologies
(ART) and pregnancy success in farm animals and humans. ART success is diminished with …

Epigenetic reprogramming of the parental genomes upon fertilization is required for proper
embryonic development. It has long been appreciated that asymmetric distribution of histone …

Successful development of a fertilized egg beyond early cleavage divisions requires the de
novo initiation and subsequent regulation of embryonic transcription. The egg provides the …

The mRNAs stored in oocytes undergo general decay during the maternal-zygotic transition
(MZT), and their stability is tightly interconnected with meiotic cell-cycle progression …

Dramatic nuclear reorganization occurs during early development to convert terminally
differentiated gametes to a totipotent zygote, which then gives rise to an embryo. Aberrant …

Following fertilization, the genomes of the germ cells are reprogrammed to form the
totipotent embryo. Pioneer transcription factors are essential for remodeling the chromatin …

Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is a nuclear reprogramming event that transforms the
genome from transcriptional quiescence at fertilization to robust transcriptional activity …

Zygotic gene activation is essential for development beyond the 2-cell stage in the
preimplantation mouse embryo. Based on α-amanitin-sensitive BrUTP incorporation …

Mouse studies have been instrumental in forming our current understanding of early cell-
lineage decisions; however, similar insights into the early human development are severely …