The idea that epigenetic determinants such as DNA methylation, histone modifications or
RNA can be passed to the next generation through meiotic products (gametes) is long …

In animal embryos, control of development is passed from exclusively maternal gene
products to those encoded by the embryonic genome in a process referred to as the …

Transcription is silenced during mitosis and reactivated at mitotic exit. The dynamics and
identities of" bookmarking" transcription factors and chromatin marks that mediate …

Global activation of the embryonic genome is the most critical event in early mammalian
development. After fertilization, a rich supply of maternal proteins and RNAs support …

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 …

Activation of transcription within the embryonic genome (EGA) after fertilization is a complex
process requiring a carefully coordinated series of nuclear and cytoplasmic events, which …

Early animal development is controlled by maternally encoded RNAs and proteins, which
are loaded into the egg during oogenesis. Oocyte maturation and egg activation trigger …

Fertilization is a very dynamic period of comprehensive chromatin remodeling, from which
two specialized cells result in a totipotent zygote. The formation of a totipotent cell requires …

The zygote has a daunting task ahead of itself; it must develop from a single cell (fertilized
egg) into a fully functioning adult with a multitude of different cell types. In the beginning, the …

Enucleated oocytes have the distinctive ability to reprogram somatic nuclei back to
totipotency. Here, we investigate genome-scale DNA methylation patterns after nuclear …