Two new papers in the March 15th issue of Genes & Development explore the role of microRNAs in early mammalian development. Two independent research groups, led by Dr. Gregory Hannon (CSH Laboratory) and Drs. M. Azim Surani (Wellcome Trust) and Kaiqin Lao (Applied Biosystems), compared cytological characteristics, microRNA profiles and gene expression data between Dicer-deficient and wild-type mouse oocytes. The abnormal expression of maternally-deposited mRNAs and cell cycle arrest of Dicer-deficient oocytes points to a critical role for Dicer and miRNAs in successful oogenesis.
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