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EGG Molecules Couple the Oocyte-to-Embryo Transition with Cell Cycle Progression

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Cell Cycle in Development

Part of the book series: Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation ((RESULTS))

Abstract

The oocyte-to-embryo transition is a precisely coordinated process in which an oocyte becomes fertilized and transitions to an embryonic program of events. The molecules involved in this process have not been well studied. Recently, a group of interacting molecules in C. elegans have been described as coordinating the oocyte-to-embryo transition with the advancement of the cell cycle. Genes egg-3, egg-4, and egg-5 represent a small class of regulatory molecules known as protein–tyrosine phosphase-like proteins, which can bind phosphorylated substrates and act as scaffolding molecules or inhibitors. These genes are responsible for coupling the movements and activities of regulatory kinase mbk-2 with advancement of the cell cycle during the oocyte-to-embryo transition.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank members of the Singson Lab for input and discussion. Work in the Singson Lab has been supported by funds from the Waksman Institute and a grant from the United States National Institutes of Health (R01 HD054681).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Waksman Institute and Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA

    Jean M. Parry & Andrew Singson

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  1. Jean M. Parry
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  2. Andrew Singson
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Correspondence to Andrew Singson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS UMR 6061, Fac. Médecine, Université de Rennes 1, Rennes CX, 35043, France

    Jacek Z. Kubiak

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Parry, J.M., Singson, A. (2011). EGG Molecules Couple the Oocyte-to-Embryo Transition with Cell Cycle Progression. In: Kubiak, J. (eds) Cell Cycle in Development. Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19065-0_7

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