Differences in blastomere totipotency in 2-cell mouse embryos are a maternal trait mediated by asymmetric mRNA distribution.

ABSTRACT: It is widely held that the first two blastomeres of mammalian embryos are equally totipotent and that this totipotency belongs to the group of regulative properties. However, this interpretation neglects an important aspect: evidence only came from successful monozygotic twins which can speak only for those pairs of half-embryos that are able to regulate in the first place. Are the frequently occurring incomplete pairs simply an artefact, or do they represent a real difference, be it in the imperfect blastomere's ability to regulate growth or in the distribution of any compound X that constrains regulation? Using the model system of mouse embryos bisected at the 2-cell stage after fertilization, we present evidence that the interblastomere differences evade regulation by external factors a

SUBMITTER: Casser E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6884417 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature