Tools for the genetic analysis of germ cells

Citations Over TimeTop 24% of 2009 papers

Abstract

Germ cells are essential for the propagation of individual species. Studies on germ cell development in mice highlight important biological paradigms. Beginning with their first appearance around embryonic day 7 (E7), germ cells undergo specific cellular changes at different stages of their embryonic and adult development. Germ cells migrate through the hind-regions of the embryo to eventually home into the developing gonads. Further differentiation and development of germ cells differ in males and females. The processes involved in germ cell development and their eventual differentiation into sperm and oocytes have been under extensive investigation in recent years. Studies on germ cells have shed light on the cellular and molecular processes involved in their specification, migration, proliferation, death, and differentiation. These studies have also revealed much about maintenance of stem cell populations and fertility. Here we review the genetic tools that are at present available to study germ cells in the mouse.

Related Papers

• → Expression of Axolotl DAZL RNA, a Marker of Germ Plasm: Widespread Maternal RNA and Onset of Expression in Germ Cells Approaching the Gonad(2001)96 cited
• → Identification of a putative germ plasm in the amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis(2013)19 cited
• → Primordial germ cell development: is the urodele pattern closer to mammals than to anurans?(1996)27 cited
• → Germ Plasm and the Molecular Determinants of Germ Cell Fate(2006)4 cited
• → Morphological evindence for germ plasm in primordial germ cells (PGCs) of chick embryo(1989)