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Mammals may possess the ability to pause embryonic development before implantation, according to a new study in PLoS ONE. Many animal embryos are able to undergo diapause, a period of arrested development, before implanting in the uterus, but though only 2% of mammals were known to have this ability, reported Nature. Now, researchers in Italy and Poland have found that sheep embryos also have this capacity, which suggests that the trick, which can help delay development during stressful conditions, may be more widespread than previously realized.
The researchers introduced sheep blastocysts into the uteruses of mice whose ovaries had been removed. Mouse embryos will undergo a pause in development under these conditions, as the surge in estrogen required for implantation does not occur, making the ...
