Following fertilization, the two specified gametes must unite to create an entirely new
organism. The genome is initially transcriptionally quiescent, allowing the zygote to be …

Early embryonic development is driven exclusively by maternal gene products deposited
into the oocyte. Although critical in establishing early developmental programs, maternal …

Upon fertilization, embryos undergo chromatin reprogramming and genome activation;
however, the mechanisms that regulate these processes are poorly understood. Here, we …

Gastrulation entails specification and formation of three embryonic germ layers—ectoderm,
mesoderm and endoderm—thereby establishing the basis for the future body plan. In …

In many organisms, early embryonic development is driven by maternally provided factors
until the controlled onset of transcription during zygotic genome activation. The regulation of …

Embryonic stem cell cultures are thought to self-organize into embryoid bodies, able to
undergo symmetry-breaking, germ layer specification and even morphogenesis. Yet, it is …

The zebrafish embryo is transcriptionally mostly quiescent during the first 10 cell cycles, until
the main wave of zygotic genome activation (ZGA) occurs, accompanied by fast chromatin …

Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) in the development of flies, fish, frogs and mammals
depends on pioneer-like transcription factors (TFs). Those TFs create open chromatin …

The first activation of gene expression during development (zygotic genome activation, ZGA)
is accompanied by massive changes in chromosome organization. The connection between …

Variations in transcription start site (TSS) selection reflect diversity of preinitiation complexes
and can impact on post-transcriptional RNA fates. Most metazoan polymerase II-transcribed …