BACKGROUND Over the past few years, advances in molecular technologies have allowed
unprecedented mapping of epigenetic modifications in gametes and during early embryonic …

Animals use diverse strategies to specify tissue lineages during development. A common
strategy is to partition maternally supplied and localized lineage determinants into …

Human embryo development occurs through a process that encompasses reprogramming,
sequential cleavage divisions and mitotic chromosome segregation and embryonic genome …

During early mouse embryogenesis, temporal and spatial regulation of gene expression and
cell signalling influences lineage specification, embryonic polarity, the patterning of tissue …

Molecular and cellular analysis of early mammalian development is compromised by the
experimental inaccessibility of the embryo. Pluripotent embryonic stem (ES) cells are …

Although many approaches have been employed to generate defined fate in vitro, the
resultant cells often appear developmentally immature or incompletely specified, limiting …

The preimplantation mouse embryo is a simple self-contained system, making it an excellent
model to discover how mammalian cells function in real time and in vivo. Work over the last …

The temporally and spatially restricted nature of the differentiation capacity of cells in the
neural lineage has been studied extensively in recent years. Epigenetic control of …

Gene regulatory networks and tissue morphogenetic events drive the emergence of shape
and function: the pillars of embryo development. Although model systems offer a window …

Prior to activation of the embryonic genome, the initiating events of mammalian development
are under maternal control and include fertilization, the block to polyspermy and processing …