title: Building the Future: Post-transcriptional Regulation of Cell Fate Decisions Prior to the Xenopus Midblastula Transition.
abstract: In all animals, a critical period in early development is when embryonic cells switch from relying solely upon maternally deposited RNAs and proteins to relying upon molecules encoded by the zygotic genome. Xenopus embryos have served as a model for examining this switch, as well as the maternally controlled stages that prepare for it. In Xenopus, the robust activation of zygotic transcription occurs at the 12th cleavage division and is referred to as the midblastula transition (MBT). Prior to MBT, gene expression is regulated by post-transcriptional events including mRNA and protein localization, protein post-translational modification, and mRNA translation. After the MBT, appropriate transcriptional regulation of the zygotic genome becomes critical and predominates. However, it is important to realize that the first key cell fate decisions that have profound impacts on development occur prior to the MBT and these are governed by regulating the expression of maternally deposited regulatory mRNAs and proteins. In this chapter, I will discuss post-transcriptional mechanisms that function during the maternal stages of Xenopus development with an emphasis on mechanisms known to directly modulate cell fate decisions. Emerging approaches and technologies that will help better understand this phase of development will also be discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Electronic address: mdsheets@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Sheets
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D036703:Blastula / Q000166:cytology*; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000235:genetics*; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014981:Xenopus / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics
keywords: Embryo; Maternal; Post-transcriptional; Regulation; Xenopus