ZGLP1 is a determinant for the oogenic fate in mice

Commencing oogenesis In mice, embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells have been shown to differentiate into primordial germ cell–like cells that can give rise to functional oocytes. In this system, Nagaoka et al. identified the gene Zglp1 as a necessary and sufficient factor for conferring the oogenic fate to sexually undetermined germ cells. As a downstream effector of bone morphogenetic protein signaling, conserved transcriptional regulator ZGLP1 activates the oogenic program repressed by Polycomb activities, whereas retinoic acid signaling assists the maturation of such activation and also the repression of the primordial germ cell program. This study thus refines our understanding of mammalian oogenic fate determination. Science , this issue p. eaaw4115