Seminars

Germ cell development is inherently complex, and this complexity poses significant challenges to understanding the perpetuity of life and the development of treatments for various germline-derived genetic and epigenetic diseases. Our research directions converge to address the following question: How do epigenetic mechanisms govern distinct sexually dimorphic processes in spermatogenesis and oogenesis, culminating in the generation of functional sperm and eggs? We seek to determine epigenetic mechanisms underlying critical stages of spermatogenesis and oogenesis. In this seminar, I will introduce how the germline maintains a unipotent developmental program over a long period of time while also retaining the ability to recover totipotency in the next generation of life. Also, I will introduce our new research direction on how chromatin-based cellular memory is established and maintained in oocyte development.