Document Type
Article
Date
2001
Keywords
Oogenesis, Caenorhabditis elegans, germ line, meiosis
Language
English
Disciplines
Biology
Description/Abstract
Oogenesis is the process of forming the female gamete, i.e., the ovum or egg. In Caenorhabditis elegans, gametes derive from a tissue called the germ line, which is specified early in embryonic development. Two major events occur during oogenesis: the oocyte precursor germ cell undergoes meiotic division and it accumulates substantial cytoplasm. In meiosis, two sequential rounds of cell division produce a haploid egg, with only one copy of each chromosome, from the diploid oocyte precursor cell. Simultaneously, a large volume of cytoplasm is accumulated; it contains yolk and numerous other components that are essential for early embryonic development. Meiotic progression seems to be an integral part of oogenesis, since a number of proteins are required meiotic progression and for the development of functional oocytes. For example, GLD-1, an RNA-binding protein, is required for maintenance of oocyte precursors in pachytene stage (see below); in its absence, female germ cells will enter meiosis and progress to pachytene stage, but then exit meiosis and return to mitotic proliferation. In contrast, male germ cells do not require GLD-1 for meiosis and gametogenesis.
Recommended Citation
Maine, Eleanor M., "Oogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans" (2001). Biology - All Scholarship. 10.
https://surface.syr.edu/bio/10
Source
Local input
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
