Orientation and the egg

The establishment of first polarity in the developing mammalian embryo is one of the most contentious topics in developmental biology today. Drs. Davor Solter and Takashi Hiiragi have new evidence to fuel the ongoing debate. Using various techniques, including comprehensive time-lapse microscopy, the researchers showed compelling evidence for the absence of predetermined polarity in the mouse egg.

Their findings are in contrast to those who feel that the site of sperm entry determines the orientation of the future body axes. "It would now make sense to base our future experiments on the premise that the mammalian egg neither has nor requires predetermination for successful development," explains Dr. Hiiragi.

Source : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory