Zebrafish ovarian follicle transcriptome

Abstract

The ability of an oocyte to develop into a viable embryo depends on the accumulation of specific maternal information and molecules, such as RNAs and proteins. Folliculogenesis and oogenesis include the formation of ovarian follicles, the initiation and completion of meiosis, and the accumulation of specific information and molecules such as RNAs, proteins, or imprinted genes in the female germ cells to sustain embryo development to the stage where zygotic gene activation takes over (Matova and Cooley, 2001; Eichenlaub-Ritter and Peschke, 2002; Duranthon and Renard, 2003). As in other vertebrates (Matova and Cooley, 2001), somatic gonadal cells in ray-finned fish species surround a single oocyte to establish a follicle (Selman and Wallace, 1989; Selman et al., 1993; Chapter 1). © 2007 Springer Netherlands.