title: A germline-centric view of cell fate commitment, reprogramming and immortality.
abstract: To ensure species continuity, the tantalising developmental plasticity of early embryonic cells, also called totipotency, must be transmitted to the offspring. This responsibility rests within the reproductive cell lineage: the germ line. At the recent EMBO/EMBL symposium 'Germline - Immortality through Totipotency', researchers discussed the mechanisms that establish and control totipotency, with an eye towards the mechanisms that may endow germ cells with the ability to propagate totipotency across generations.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, CNRS/INSERM U964, Université de Strasbourg, F-67404 Illkirch, Cité Universitaire de Strasbourg, France. metp@igbmc.fr
authors.forename: Maria-Elena
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Torres-Padilla
authors.forename: Rafal
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ciosk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D065150:Cellular Reprogramming; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005718:Gametogenesis; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D040582:Inheritance Patterns; D009865:Oocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D039901:Totipotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*