Molecular asymmetry in the 8-cell stage Xenopus tropicalis embryo described by single blastomere transcript sequencing.

ABSTRACT: Correct development of the vertebrate body plan requires the early definition of two asymmetric, perpendicular axes. The first axis is established during oocyte maturation, and the second is established by symmetry breaking shortly after fertilization. The physical processes generating the second asymmetric, or dorsal-ventral, axis are well understood, but the specific molecular determinants, presumed to be maternal gene products, are poorly characterized. Whilst enrichment of maternal mRNAs at the animal and vegetal poles in both the oocyte and the early embryo has been studied, little is known about the distribution of maternal mRNAs along either the dorsal-ventral or left-right axes during the early cleavage stages. Here we report an unbiased analysis of the distribution of maternal mRN

SUBMITTER: De Domenico E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4684228 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature