Unscrambling the egg–sperm divide

Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Key to the production of gametes is the time at which the germ cells they are derived from enter meiosis. In mice, meiosis is initiated in

females during embryonic development (at E13.5), whereas in males this occurs only after birth. This timing is crucial, as the later meiosis of male germ cells allows sperm rather than eggs

to be made. David Page and colleagues showed that an RA receptor (RAR) antagonist suppresses the expression of a pre-meiotic marker (_Stra8_) in cultured mouse embryonic ovaries.

Furthermore, although _Stra8_ is not normally expressed in the male gonad until after birth, addition of RA to testes in culture stimulates expression of the marker. This led the authors to

propose that RA is required for germ cells to enter meiosis, and indicates that regulated RA degradation might control the timing of this event. This is a preview of subscription content,

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OPTIONS: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support REFERENCES ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS * Bowles, J. et al. Retinoid signaling determines

germ cell fate in mice. _Science_ 30 March 2006 (doi:10.1126/science.1125691) * Koubova, J. et al. Retinoic acid regulates sex-specific timing of meiotic initiation in mice. _Proc. Natl

Acad. Sci. USA_ 103, 2474–2479 (2006) Article  CAS  Google Scholar  FURTHER READING * Brennan, J. & Capel, B. One tissue, two fates: molecular genetic events that underlie testis versus

ovary development. _Nature Rev. Genet._ 5, 509–521 (2004) Article  CAS  Google Scholar  Download references Authors * Louisa Flintoft View author publications You can also search for this

author inPubMed Google Scholar RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Flintoft, L. Unscrambling the egg–sperm divide. _Nat Rev Genet_ 7, 336

(2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg1868 Download citation * Issue Date: 01 May 2006 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg1868 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be

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