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

This review, with reference to the mouse, rabbit, cow, sheep, pig and man, includes
consideration of (1) the timing of the switch from maternal to embryonic genetic control of …

The earliest stages of development in most animals, including the few mammalian species
that have been investigated, are regulated by maternally inherited information1 …

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 …

The events regulating human preimplantation development are still largely unknown owing
to a scarcity of material, ethical and legal limitations and a lack of reliable techniques to …

We describe a fluorimetric method for measuring the level of H2O2 in individual mouse
oocytes and early embryos. Levels of H2O2 are low but detectable in unfertilized oocytes …

Human oocyte maturation is considered as the reinitiation and completion of the first meiotic
division from the germinal vesicle stage (prophase I) to metaphase II, and the accompanying …

Early embryonic development is largely dependent on maternal RNAs and proteins
synthesised during oogenesis. Zygotic transcription is an essential event that occurs at a …

Understanding human embryology has historically relied on comparative approaches using
mammalian model organisms. With the advent of low-input methods to investigate genetic …

Two-cell sheep embryos and 2–4-cell and 8-cell cow embryos were cultured for 5 days in
stoppered test-tubes in Synthetic Oviduct Fluid supplemented with 32 mg BSA/ml. The …