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What can we learn from gene expression profiling of mouse oocytes?

¹ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi Shijuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan² Department of Reproductive Biology and Pathology, National Institute for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-8535, Japan

Correspondence should be addressed to T Hamatani; Email: t-hama{at}sc.itc.keio.ac.jp

Mammalian ooplasm supports the preimplantation development and reprograms the introduced nucleus transferred from a somatic cell to confer pluripotency in a cloning experiment. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of oocyte competence remain unknown. Recent advances in microarray technologies have allowed gene expression profiling of such tiny specimens as oocytes and preimplantation embryos, generating a flood of information about gene expressions. So, what can we learn from it? Here, we review the initiative global gene expression studies of mouse and/or human oocytes, focusing on the lists of maternal transcripts and their expression patterns during oogenesis and preimplantation development. Especially, the genes expressed exclusively in oocytes should contribute to the uniqueness of oocyte competence, driving mammalian development systems of oocytes and preimplantation embryos. Furthermore, we discuss future directions for oocyte gene expression profiling, including discovering biomarkers of oocyte quality and exploiting the microarray data for ‘making oocytes’.