Oocyte differentiation is genetically dissociable from the meiotic program in mice

Oogenesis is a developmental program by which a gametogenesis-competent germ cell becomes a fertilization-competent egg. During oogenesis, growth and differentiation of oocytes are closely coordinated with initiation and progression through meiosis. In mammals, the timing of meiotic initiation is sexually dimorphic, with only ovarian and not testicular germ cells initiating meiosis during fetal development. Consequentially, fetal meiotic initiation is thought to be prerequisite to subsequent growth and differentiation of the ovarian germ cell into a fully grown oocyte. Here I present evidence that meiotic initiation and prophase I are genetically separable from oocyte growth and differentiation, thereby, demonstrating that oogenesis consists of two independent processes under separate regulation. This represents a novel view of the oogenesis program and revises the current model of germ cell commitment to oogenesis in mice. The proposed revised model accounts for independent commitment of a germ cell to meiosis and differentiation. This model may provide insights into previously unexplained cases of female infertility and has practical implications for in vitro oogenesis strategies.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Dokshin, Gregoriy A. (Gregoriy Aleksandrovich)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• David C. Page.

• Biology.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/79321

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/79321