Zinc availability during germline development impacts embryo viability in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: Zinc is an essential metal that serves as a cofactor in a variety of cellular processes, including meiotic maturation. Cellular control of zinc uptake, availability and efflux is closely linked to meiotic progression in rodent and primate reproduction where large fluctuations in zinc levels are critical at several steps in the oocyte-to-embryo transition. Despite these well-documented roles of zinc fluxes during meiosis, only a few of the genes encoding key zinc receptors, membrane-spanning transporters, and downstream signaling pathway factors have been identified to date. Furthermore, little is known about analogous roles for zinc fluxes in the context of a whole organism. Here, we evaluate whether zinc availability regulates germline development and oocyte viability in the nematode Caen

SUBMITTER: Mendoza AD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5210184 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature