The egg to embryo transition: molecular basis and developmental control

卵子是一种高度特化的细胞，就像我们身体中的几乎所有其他细胞一样。但是，与我们身体中的其他细胞不同，当卵子受精时，它就变成了胚胎。新个体的所有细胞都来自受精卵，因此我们认为受精卵是非特化的，或者说是全能的。特化的卵子是如何快速有效地转化为非特化的胚胎的，而非特化的胚胎有可能形成我们体内的每一个细胞？这个过程很复杂，但已经确定了一些关键事件。一个特别重要的是消除卵子中的遗传信息，使其可以被胚胎的新遗传信息所取代。遗传信息在细胞内通过信使rna传递。这项研究将研究卵子中的信使rna是如何被降解的，以及这个过程是如何被控制的，从而使它们在正确的时间和地点被降解。我们希望这些结果不仅能帮助我们理解胚胎发育，还能揭示解释不同细胞如何发育和获得独特功能的一般原理。

The egg is a highly specialized cell, like almost every other cell in our body. But, unlike any other cell in our body, when an egg is fertilized, it becomes an embryo. All of the cells of the new individual descend from the fertilized egg, which for this reason we consider to be non-specialized, or totipotent. How is the specialized egg rapidly and efficiently converted to the non-specialized embryo that carries the potential to form every cell in our body? The process is complex, but some key events have been identified. A particularly important one is the elimination of the genetic information in the egg, so that it can be replaced by the new genetic information of the embryo. Genetic information is transported in the cell by molecules called messenger RNAs. This research will study how the messenger RNAs in the egg are degraded, and how this process is controlled do that they are degraded in the right place and at the right time. We hope that the results will help us to understand not only embryonic development but also uncover general principles that explain how different cells develop and acquire unique functions.