A story of birth and death: mRNA translation and clearance at the onset of maternal-to-zygotic transition in mammals

In mammals, maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT), or oocyte-to-embryo transition, begins with oocyte meiotic resumption due to the sequential translational activation and destabilization of dormant maternal transcripts stored in the ooplasm. It then continues with the elimination of maternal transcr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biology of reproduction 2019-09, Vol.101 (3), p.579-590
Main Authors: Sha, Qian-Qian, Zhang, Jue, Fan, Heng-Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological research
CCR4-NOT
Cell cycle
Embryo
Embryonic development
Embryos
Genes
Genomes
Genomics
Homeostasis
Kinases
Laboratories
Life sciences
Mammals
MAPK cascade
Maternal-to-zygotic transition
Messenger RNA
Oocyte
Proteins
RNA
Transcription (Genetics)
Translation (Genetics)
Translations
zygote
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Summary:In mammals, maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT), or oocyte-to-embryo transition, begins with oocyte meiotic resumption due to the sequential translational activation and destabilization of dormant maternal transcripts stored in the ooplasm. It then continues with the elimination of maternal transcripts during oocyte maturation and fertilization and ends with the full transcriptional activation of the zygotic genome during embryonic development. A hallmark of MZT in mammals is its reliance on translation and the utilization of stored RNAs and proteins, rather than de novo transcription of genes, to sustain meiotic maturation and early development. Impaired maternal mRNA clearance at the onset of MZT prevents zygotic genome activation and causes early arrest of developing embryos. In this review, we discuss recent advances in our knowledge of the mechanisms whereby mRNA translation and degradation are controlled by cytoplasmic polyadenylation and deadenylation which set up the competence of maturing oocyte to accomplish MZT. The emphasis of this review is on the mouse as a model organism for mammals and BTG4 as a licensing factor of MZT under the translational control of the MAPK cascade. Summary Sentence This review highlights the new mechanisms that regulate maternal mRNA translation and degradation during oocyte meiotic cell cycle progression and oocyte-to-embryo transition.
ISSN:0006-3363
1529-7268
DOI:10.1093/biolre/ioz012