Fertilization marks the end of oogenesis and the beginning of embryogenesis. The legacy of oogenesis is, however, maintained by virtue of the stored nutritional and regulatory molecules that fuel, and in many cases direct, early development. The signal that stimulates the transition from oocyte to embryo is a sperm-induced increase in the concentration of intracellular free Ca2+. Thus successfu...

Dipteran ovaries consist of structural-functional units termed egg chambers. Each egg chamber is composed of a cluster of germ cells enveloped by a simple somatic follicular epithelium. With the progress of oogenesis, initially an almost uniform population of follicular cells (FCs) becomes diversified into a few subgroups, which significantly differ in their function and behaviour. From the ext...

Recent work on Drosophila oogenesis has uncovered connections between cell-cycle checkpoints and pattern formation. Genes of the spindle class, which encode double-strand break repair enzymes and RNA helicases, affect oocyte polarity and the decision whether to differentiate as an oocyte or a nurse cell.

All metazoans that reproduce sexually have the ability to form gametes. Both types of gametes, the egg and the sperm, arise from germ cells, undergo a unique program of differentiation, and are destined to unite. The outcome of their union, the zygote, is a cell possessing the tremendous potential to build a new individual that expresses, maintains, and propagates characteristics of the species...

The determination of cell fate and the establishment of polarity axes during Drosophila oogenesis depend upon pathways that localize mRNAs within the egg chamber and control their on-site translation. One factor that plays a central role in regulating on-site translation of mRNAs is Orb. Orb is a founding member of the conserved CPEB family of RNA-binding proteins. These proteins bind to target...