Activating the C. elegans egg: Molecular players, current knowledge, and unanswered questions

Egg activation is a global cellular change that, in combination with fertilization, transitions the differentiated, developmentally quiescent oocyte into a totipotent, developmentally active one-cell embryo. In C. elegans, key regulators of egg activation include egg-3, egg-4, egg-5, chs-1, and spe-11. Here we will review our current understanding of how these molecules, and others, ensure the robust activation of the egg by controlling meiosis, formation of the eggshell, and the block to polyspermy.