The ability to perform muscle contractions is one of the most important and distinctive
features of eumetazoans. As the sister group to bilaterians, cnidarians (sea anemones …

Clytia hemisphaerica, a member of the early-branching animal phylum Cnidaria, is
emerging rapidly as an experimental model for studies in developmental biology and …

Cell division in all eukaryotes depends on function of the spindle, a microtubule-based
structure that segregates chromosomes to generate daughter cells in mitosis or haploid …

During oogenesis, oocytes arrest at meiotic prophase I to acquire competencies for
resuming meiosis, fertilization, and early embryonic development. Following this arrested …

Background Nematostella vectensis, a burrowing sea anemone, has become a popular
species for the study of cnidarian development. In previous studies, the expression of a …

Mitotic spindle position relies on interactions between astral microtubules nucleated by
centrosomes and a rigid cortex. Some cells, such as mouse oocytes, do not possess …

Oocyte meiotic maturation is crucial for sexually reproducing animals, and its core
cytoplasmic regulators are highly conserved between species. By contrast, the few known …

In metazoans that undergo sexual reproduction, genomic inheritance is ensured by two
distinct types of cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis. Mitosis maintains the genomic ploidy in …

Maternally-loaded factors in the egg accumulate during oogenesis and are essential for the
acquisition of oocyte and egg developmental competence to ensure the production of viable …

The reproductive hormones that trigger oocyte meiotic maturation and release from the
ovary vary greatly between animal species. Identification of receptors for these maturation …