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Setting the stage for development: mRNA translation and stability during oocyte maturation and egg activation in Drosophila

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

Article first published online: 9 FEB 2005

DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.20297

Issue

Developmental Dynamics

Developmental Dynamics

Special Issue: Drosophila as a Model System

Volume 232, Issue 3, pages 593–608, March 2005

Additional Information

How to Cite

Tadros, W. and Lipshitz, H. D. (2005), Setting the stage for development: mRNA translation and stability during oocyte maturation and egg activation in Drosophila. Dev. Dyn., 232: 593–608. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.20297

Author Information

  1. Program in Developmental Biology, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children & Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

*Program in Developmental Biology, Research Institute, The Hospital for Sick Children, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 18 FEB 2005
  2. Article first published online: 9 FEB 2005
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 19 OCT 2004
  4. Manuscript Revised: 18 OCT 2004
  5. Manuscript Received: 10 SEP 2004

Funded by

  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Grant Number: MOP-14409

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Keywords:

  • mRNA translation;
  • mRNA stability;
  • oocyte maturation;
  • egg activation;
  • Drosophila

Abstract

Early animal development is controlled by maternally encoded RNAs and proteins, which are loaded into the egg during oogenesis. Oocyte maturation and egg activation trigger changes in the translational status and the stability of specific maternal mRNAs. Whereas both maturation and activation have been studied in depth in amphibians and echinoderms, only recently have these processes begun to be dissected using the powerful genetic and molecular tools available in Drosophila. This review focuses on the mechanisms and functions of regulated maternal mRNA translation and stability in Drosophila—and compares these mechanisms with those elucidated in other animal models, particularly Xenopus—beginning late in oogenesis and continuing to the mid-blastula transition, when developmental control is transferred to zygotically synthesized transcripts. Developmental Dynamics 232:593–608, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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