Review
Version 1
Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed
Building Principles for Constructing a Mammalian Blastocyst Embryo
Version 1
: Received: 13 June 2018 / Approved: 13 June 2018 / Online: 13 June 2018 (10:34:59 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 25 July 2018 / Approved: 25 July 2018 / Online: 25 July 2018 (05:43:59 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 25 July 2018 / Approved: 25 July 2018 / Online: 25 July 2018 (05:43:59 CEST)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Pfeffer, P.L. Building Principles for Constructing a Mammalian Blastocyst Embryo. Biology 2018, 7, 41. Pfeffer, P.L. Building Principles for Constructing a Mammalian Blastocyst Embryo. Biology 2018, 7, 41.
Abstract
The self-organisation of a fertilised egg into an embryo of three distinct cell lineages (trophoblast, epiblast and hypoblast) arranged around an off-centre cavity typifies the blastocyst, an embryonic structure that is unique to mammals. While the starting point (the zygote) and endpoint (the blastocyst) are similar in all mammals, the intervening events have diverged. This review examines and compares the descriptive and functional data surrounding embryonic gene activation, symmetry-breaking, first and second lineage establishment and fate commitment in a wide range of mammalian orders. The exquisite detail known from mouse embryogenesis, embryonic stem cell studies and the wealth of recent single cell transcriptomic experiments are used to highlight the building principles underlying early mammalian embryonic development.
Keywords
lineage determination; patterning; blastomere polarization; compaction; cleavage stages; morula; gene regulatory networks
Subject
BIOLOGY, Animal Sciences & Zoology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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