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Cleavage and Blastulation

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After a large-single-celled zygote is produced via fertilization, the process of cleavage occurs while zygotes travel through the uterine tube. Cleavage is a mitotic cell division that does not result in growth. With each round of successive cell division, daughter cells get increasingly smaller.

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How does a complex organism such as a human develop from a single cell? It all starts from a single fertilized egg which gives rise to a vast array of cell types, such as nerve cells, muscle cells, and epithelial cells that characterize the adult? Throughout development and adulthood, cellular differentiation leads cells to assume their final morphology and physiology. Differentiation is the process by which unspecialized cells become specialized to carry out distinct functions.
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During embryogenesis, cells become progressively committed to different fates through a two-step process: specification followed by determination. Specification is demonstrated by removing a segment of an early embryo, “neutrally” culturing the tissue in vitro—for example, in a petri dish with simple medium—and then observing the derivatives. If the cultured region gives rise to cell types that it would normally generate in the embryo, this means that it is specified. In contrast, determination...

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Spermatogenesis is the process by which haploid sperm cells are produced in the male testes. It starts with stem cells located close to the outer rim of seminiferous tubules. These spermatogonial stem cells divide asymmetrically to give rise to additional stem cells (meaning that these structures “self-renew”), as well as sperm progenitors, called spermatocytes. Importantly, this method of asymmetric mitotic division maintains a population of spermatogonial stem cells in the male reproductive...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 17, 2026

Ex vivo Culture of Drosophila Pupal Testis and Single Male Germ-line Cysts: Dissection, Imaging, and Pharmacological Treatment

Ex vivo Culture of Drosophila Pupal Testis and Single Male Germ-line Cysts: Dissection, Imaging, and Pharmacological Treatment

Published on: September 11, 2014

The dazzle in germ cell differentiation.

Candace L Kerr¹, Linzhao Cheng

¹Stem Cell Program, Institute for Cell Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

Journal of Molecular Cell Biology

|December 17, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Embryonic stem cells can become germ cells. The protein Dazl is crucial for this process, guiding embryonic stem cell differentiation into pre- and post-meiotic germ cells.

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Area of Science:

Reproductive biology
Developmental biology
Stem cell research

Background:

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) possess pluripotency, enabling differentiation into various cell types.
Germ cell development and its molecular regulation, particularly post-meiosis, remained poorly understood.
The role of specific factors in ESC-to-germ cell differentiation was an active area of investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the differentiation of ESCs into germ cells.
To investigate the specific contribution of the Dazl gene in this differentiation pathway.
To identify key factors and pathways influenced by Dazl during germ cell development.

Main Methods:

In vitro differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells.
Analysis of gene expression patterns during differentiation.
Functional studies involving Dazl manipulation (e.g., knockdown or overexpression).

Main Results:

Demonstrated successful differentiation of ESCs into cells resembling pre- and post-meiotic germ cells in vitro.
Identified Dazl as a key regulator significantly promoting this differentiation process.
Characterized several downstream factors and pathways influenced by Dazl during germ cell specification.

Conclusions:

Dazl plays a critical role in directing ESC differentiation towards germ cell lineages.
Understanding Dazl's function provides insights into the molecular basis of early germ cell development.
Further research is needed to fully elucidate the complex mechanisms governed by Dazl in germ cell formation.