The bacterial CRISPR–Cas9 system has emerged as a multifunctional platform for
sequence-specific regulation of gene expression. This Review describes the development of …

Primordial germ cells (PGCs), the precursors of sperm and eggs, are established in
perigastrulation-stage embryos in mammals. Signals from extra-embryonic tissues induce a …

After fertilization, the quiescent zygote experiences a burst of genome activation that initiates
a short-lived totipotent state. Understanding the process of totipotency in human cells would …

Formation of the three primary germ layers during gastrulation is an essential step in the
establishment of the vertebrate body plan and is associated with major transcriptional …

Of all known cultured stem cell types, pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) sit atop the landscape of
developmental potency and are characterized by their ability to generate all cell types of an …

Understanding of mammalian enhancers is limited by the lack of a technology to rapidly and
thoroughly test the cell type–specific function. Here, we use a nuclease-deficient Cas9 …

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) of mice and humans have distinct molecular and biological
characteristics, raising the question of whether an earlier," naive" state of pluripotency may …

Mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts, and
can be preserved in vitro in a naive inner-cell-mass-like configuration by providing …

Upon fertilization, drastic chromatin reorganization occurs during preimplantation
development. However, the global chromatin landscape and its molecular dynamics in this …

Cell-fate transitions involve the integration of genomic information encoded by regulatory
elements, such as enhancers, with the cellular environment,. However, identification of …