The first major developmental transition in vertebrate embryos is the maternal-to-zygotic
transition (MZT) when maternal mRNAs are degraded and zygotic transcription begins …

Pathways underlying mouse embryonic development have always informed efforts to derive,
maintain, and drive differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells. However, direct …

Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is a critical postfertilization step that promotes totipotency
and allows different cell fates to emerge in the developing embryo. MERVL (murine …

The activation of the embryonic genome marks the first major wave of transcription in the
developing organism. Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) in mouse 2-cell embryos and 8-cell …

Mammalian oocytes can reprogram somatic cells into a totipotent state enabling animal
cloning through somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). However, the majority of SCNT …

Abstract Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy (FSHD; MIM 158900, MIM 158901) is caused by
misexpression of the DUX4 transcription factor in skeletal muscle. Animal models of FSHD …

DNA methylation at the C-5 position of cytosine (5mC) is one of the best-studied epigenetic
modifications and plays important roles in diverse biological processes. Iterative oxidation of …

Exceptional genomic stability is one of the hallmarks of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells.
However, the genes contributing to this stability remain obscure. We previously identified …

Mouse embryonic stem cells are dynamic and heterogeneous. For example, rare cells cycle
through a state characterized by decondensed chromatin and expression of transcripts …

There is surprising confusion surrounding the concept of biological totipotency, both within
the scientific community and in society at large. Increasingly, ethical objections to scientific …