Retinoic acid appears to control the timing and perhaps the choice for germ cells in the developing mouse to begin changing into eggs or sperm, scientists report in the March 30 online edition of Science. Their paper, and the recent findings of another group appearing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could force a rethinking of prevailing theories that suggest germ cells have genetically programmed fates.Instead, germ cells may be "a blank slate that await chemical instructions to tell them which way to go," Science study coauthor Peter Koopman at the University of Queensland in Brisbane told The Scientist.Whether developing germ cells become male or female depends on when they enter meiosis. If meiosis begins during fetal development, oogenesis is triggered, while delayed meiosis spurs spermatogenesis. It is widely thought that fetal germ cells in both males and females are intrinsically programmed to enter...
Cyp26b1retinoic acidCyp26b1PNAS Cyp26b1Stra8Stra8 Scp3 Dmc1Oct4Oct4 Stra8Scp3 Dmc1 PNAS Stra8 Debra WolgemuthThe ScientistWilliam BlanerPNAS Michael Griswoldcqchoi@nasw.orgThe Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/21591/SciencePNAS http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073 pnas.0510813103http://www.imb.uq.edu.au/groups/koopman/The Scientisthttp://www.the-scientist.com/yr1988/dec/research2_881226.htmlhttp://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/14288/http://asp.cpmc.columbia.edu/facdb/profile_list.asp?uni=wsb2&DepAffil=Medicinehttp://molecular.biosciences.wsu.edu/faculty/griswold.html
Interested in reading more?
Become a Member of
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
