The influence of the mother: Maternal epigenetic inheritance

(Medical Xpress) -- A study published in Genes and Development from scientists at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research pinpoints the importance of maternal epigenetic influences during early embryogenesis in mammals. A chromatin regulatory complex in the oocyte ensures that the proper luggage of maternal transcripts and chromatin structures control the first steps in the formation of an embryo. In the absence of this epigenetic regulator the embryo fails to develop correctly.