Maternal-Zygotic Transition: Death and Birth of RNAs

Maternal gene products drive early development when the newly formed embryo is transcriptionally inactive. During the maternal-zygotic transition, embryonic transcription is initiated and many maternal RNAs are degraded. Multiple mechanisms regulate the birth of zygotic RNAs and the death of materna...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2007-04, Vol.316 (5823), p.406-407
Main Author: Schier, Alexander F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
3' Untranslated Regions
Animals
Binding sites
Cell Cycle
Cells
Cellular biology
DNA
Embryology
Embryonic Development
Embryos
Female
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
Gene Silencing
Genes
Genomes
Genomics
Germ cells
Messenger RNA
MicroRNAs
Mothers
Reviews
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
RNA Stability
RNA, Messenger - metabolism
RNA, Messenger, Stored - metabolism
RNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism
Stem cells
Transcription, Genetic
Zygote - cytology
Zygote - metabolism
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Summary:Maternal gene products drive early development when the newly formed embryo is transcriptionally inactive. During the maternal-zygotic transition, embryonic transcription is initiated and many maternal RNAs are degraded. Multiple mechanisms regulate the birth of zygotic RNAs and the death of maternal RNAs. Genome activation appears to rely in part on the sequestration of transcriptional repressors by the exponentially increasing amount of DNA during cleavage divisions. Maternal RNA degradation is induced by the binding of proteins and microRNAs to the 3' untranslated region of target RNAs.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1140693