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Clearance of Maternal RNAs: Not a Mummy’s Embryo Anymore

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Zygotic Genome Activation

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1605))

Abstract

Until the zygotic genome is activated, early development relies on the products deposited by the mother. Once the zygotic genome starts to be transcribed, most maternal products are not needed anymore by the developing embryo. This emancipation from the maternal genome occurs during the Zygotic Genome Activation (ZGA). Although the process by which the maternal content is replaced with zygotic products differs from species to species, there is a common theme to all of them: maternal transcripts are actively degraded. Here, a review of how the degradation of maternal RNAs is regulated during early development and discussions on some computational tools that may be of use in this research area are outlined.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK

    Antonio Marco

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  1. Antonio Marco
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Correspondence to Antonio Marco .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

    Kiho Lee

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Marco, A. (2017). Clearance of Maternal RNAs: Not a Mummy’s Embryo Anymore. In: Lee, K. (eds) Zygotic Genome Activation. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1605. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6988-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6988-3_1

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-6986-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-6988-3

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