title: Maternal control of early mouse development.
abstract: The hiatus between oocyte and embryonic gene transcription dictates a role for stored maternal factors in early mammalian development. Encoded by maternal-effect genes, these factors accumulate during oogenesis and enable the activation of the embryonic genome, the subsequent cleavage stages of embryogenesis and the initial establishment of embryonic cell lineages. Recent studies in mice have yielded new findings on the role of maternally provided proteins and multi-component complexes in preimplantation development. Nevertheless, significant gaps remain in our mechanistic understanding of the networks that regulate early mammalian embryogenesis, which provide an impetus and opportunities for future investigations.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cellular and Developmental Biology, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. lil@ioz.ac.cn
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Jurrien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dean
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D009865:Oocytes / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational / Q000502:physiology; D023121:RNA, Messenger, Stored / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D023121:RNA, Messenger, Stored