Mater, a maternal effect gene required for early embryonic development in mice

Maternal effect genes produce mRNA or proteins that accumulate in the egg during oogenesis. We show here that Mater, a mouse oocyte protein dependent on the maternal genome, is essential for

embryonic development beyond the two-cell stage. Females lacking the maternal effect gene Mater are sterile. Null males are fertile.

We thank H. Westphal for discussions, and M. DePamphilis for discussions and critical reading of the manuscript.

Developmental Endocrinology Branch, NICHD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Laboratory of Cellular and Developmental Biology, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Laboratory of Mammalian Genes and Development, NICHD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Department of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington DC, USA

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