Takeaways
- Maternal provisioning influences early embryo development.
- mRNA from the mother controls initial growth before the embryo’s genes activate.
- Variations in maternal mRNA can lead to developmental and evolutionary changes.
- Parental genetics affect how maternal contributions are passed to offspring.
- Understanding this process may improve fertility treatments and genetic research.
Maternal provisioning is a process of mothers contributing cell components to their offspring. The process determines the number of cellular resources available to individual offspring in the propagule stage. Unfertilized eggs are a vital means to determine how variations in maternal provisioning can affect ontogeny. Differences in maternal mRNA provisioning may result in phenotypic changes in embryogenesis and, eventually, evolutionary changes in development. However, it is unknown how much differences in maternal mRNA provisioning affect ontogeny or life history. A new study has investigated the extent of oocyte changes in maternal provisioning to the egg.
Mother With Baby
Significant gene variations occur with mRNA expression differences
The first stages of embryonic growth are totally under the control of maternal proteins and mRNAs loaded into the oocyte. The zygotic genome gains control of embryonic development after a few cell divisions during a period known as the maternal-to-zygotic transition. This transition period allows for zygotic genome activation by maternal transcription factors. Because maternal transcripts directly control the development of the offspring, changes in maternal mRNA composition and abundance could impact subsequent developmental processes. The changes in maternal mRNA expression may allow for developmental shifts that eventually lead to differences in life-history traits. Also, changes during the early formative stages can lead to evolutionary variations. The early stages of offspring development are directly under maternal control.
Mothers produce eggs containing nutrients, proteins, and mRNAs that can start early embryo formation. These maternally formed mRNAs are the only genes expressed in the early stages of development. The mRNAs are under tight regulation and control. The research scientists studied a species model with dimorphic development. Dimorphic development involves the formation of eggs and larvae of different sizes and life histories.
The scientists investigated the changes in maternal mRNA provisioning to the egg. They examined the effect of gene expression variations on different generations of egg provisioning to determine the regulatory features of the differences in mRNA provisioning. The study showed significant variations in gene expression across eggs of different development modes. The parent-of-origin and allele-specific effects contribute to the mRNA expression differences. The formed offspring of the same species crossing can also provision their eggs based on their parents’ cross direction.
Clinical significance
The effect of allelic expression based on different development models has not previously been shown in reproductive traits like oogenesis. The present study shows the effects of these maternal positioning on varying development outcomes in eggs. The study proves clinically significant in determining the structure and mechanisms underlying these gene provisioning differences. These findings can apply to genetic and evolutionary studies to check the varying offspring development due to maternal provisioning.
FAQ: How Maternal Provisioning Shapes Embryo Development
1. What is maternal provisioning?
It’s the process where mothers pass cellular components, like mRNA and proteins, to their eggs, influencing early development.
2. Why does maternal mRNA matter?
It controls early embryo growth before the zygotic genome takes over, shaping how an organism develops.
3. How do unfertilized eggs help researchers?
They show how maternal contributions vary and how those differences might affect embryo growth and evolution.
4. What did the study find?
Maternal mRNA expression varies between eggs, influencing their size, development speed, and survival.
5. Can parental genetics change egg development?
Yes, the study found that genes from the mother and father affect how maternal mRNA is passed on.
6. What’s the maternal-to-zygotic transition?
It’s when an embryo shifts from relying on maternal mRNA to using its own genetic instructions.
7. Does maternal provisioning impact evolution?
It might—if certain maternal traits give offspring an advantage, they could shape long-term changes in a species.
8. Why does this matter in medicine?
Understanding these processes could improve fertility treatments and help explain developmental disorders.
Related Reading:
- How a Woman’s Egg Selects Spermatozoa Has Nothing to Do With Love
- Caltech Researchers Make Mouse Embryo From Stem Cells Without the need for Sperm Or Eggs
Conclusion
The maternal-offspring connection is vital for life. Maternal provisioning allows for offspring to generate cell components. However, the variations in maternal provisioning can cause developmental changes in the embryo, potentially leading to evolution. The present study showed significant gene variations occur with these mRNA expression differences. Different development modes are visible with these variations. The development of produced eggs is subject to the maternal provisioned features at birth.
References
Harry, N.D., Zakas, C. Maternal patterns of inheritance alter transcript expression in eggs. BMC Genomics 24, 191 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-023-09291-8
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