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First published online August 21, 2009
doi: 10.1242/10.1242/dev.033183

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The maternal-to-zygotic transition: a play in two acts

Wael Tadros^1,2,* and Howard D. Lipshitz^1,2,

¹ Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A8.
² Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, TMDT Building, 101 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1L7.

Author for correspondence (howard.lipshitz{at}utoronto.ca)

SUMMARY

All animal embryos pass through a stage during which developmental control is handed from maternally provided gene products to those synthesized from the zygotic genome. This maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT) has been extensively studied in model organisms, including echinoderms, nematodes, insects, fish, amphibians and mammals. In all cases, the MZT can be subdivided into two interrelated processes: first, a subset of maternal mRNAs and proteins is eliminated; second, zygotic transcription is initiated. The timing and scale of these two events differ across species, as do the cellular and morphogenetic processes that sculpt their embryos. In this article, we discuss conserved and distinct features within the two component processes of the MZT.

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