We have analyzed the expression and intracellular distribution, during oogenesis and embryogenesis, of Vg1 RBP, a protein implicated in the intracellular localization of Vg1 mRNA to the vegetal cortex of Xenopus oocytes. Vg1 RBP (protein) colocalizes with Vg1 RNA at all stages of oogenesis. Vg1 RBP RNA, however, localizes to the animal pole during late oogenesis, and remains in the animal blast...

Mechanisms of post-transcriptional control are essential during Drosophila oogenesis and embryogenesis to sequester gene products in discrete regions and ultimately achieve embryonic asymmetry. Maternal germ cell-less (gcl) mRNA accumulates in the pole plasm of the embryo before Gcl protein is detectable. gcl mRNA, but not Gcl protein, can also be detected in somatic regions of the embryo, sugg...

Oogenesis in Drosophila was initially studied as a model system to investigate the patterning of embryonic axis, however, it has since become a powerful model system for investigating various aspects of cellular, molecular and developmental biology. Oogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster is a complex developmental process which involves extensive cellular remodeling and communication [1-3]. The e...

The heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) Squid (Sqd) is a highly abundant protein that is expected to bind most cellular RNAs. Nonetheless, Sqd plays a very specific developmental role in dorsoventral (DV) axis formation during Drosophila oogenesis by localizing gurken (grk) RNA. Here, we report that Sqd is also essential for anteroposterior (AP) axis formation. We identified sqd in ...

Asymmetric mRNA localization is an effective mechanism for establishing cellular and developmental polarity. Posterior localization of oskar in the Drosophila oocyte targets the synthesis of Oskar to the posterior, where Oskar initiates the assembly of the germ plasm. In addition to harboring germline determinants, the germ plasm is required for localization and translation of the abdominal det...

INTRODUCTION It is widely accepted that oogenesis normally stops early in mammalian development (see Brambell, 1956; Franchi, Mandl & Zuckerman, 1962). Nevertheless, it has been claimed that mitotically active oogonia, and oocytes in early stages of meiotic prophase occur in mature specimens of Galago senegalensis (Gerard, 1920, 1932; Gerard & Herlant, 1953; Herlant, 1961; Petter-Rousseaux, 196...

How does the follicle coordinate meiosis progression? The ovarian follicle is an integrated system in which follicular cells regulate oocyte progression into meiosis. Oocytes are large cells that divide asymmetrically to preserve stores for future embryonic development. To do this, they must coordinate asymmetric spindle positioning with cell cycle progression and chromosome segregation. In mam...

In many migratory insects, migration occurs during the prereproductive phase of life cycle. This trait probably arises from a trade-off between and reproduction in females has been termed ‘oogenesis–flight syndrome’. However, generality this syndrome questioned, especially for monomorphic insects. We studied relationship highly cosmopolitan painted lady butterfly, Vanessa cardui, which Palaearc...