The existence of species (organisms of all levels, up to humans) and their biodiversity are delicately sustained in today’s changing world. The current hectic lifestyle, ever-growing industrialization, and consequent increasing environmental degradation impacts all organisms, especially in terms of their reproductive health. Germ cells, a crucial cell lineage uniquely capable of meiosis, distinct from somatic cells, are solely responsible for the trans-generational transmission of genetic information in animals. It is well established that sex-specific changes within the germline occur during fetal development. It takes different forms as primordial germ cells (PGCs), germ line stem cells (GSCs), gonia, oocytes and spermatocytes, and finally, the mature gametes. During their journey, germ cells interact with the surrounding somatic cells and decide their sexually dimorphic fate under the influence of other body physiology of an organism. Extensive research from the past has shown that various signaling pathways work simultaneously in a coordinated (synergistic) or uncoordinated (antagonistic) fashion and collectively bring decisive signaling molecules that decide the developmental fate of these germ cells. However, many unknown pathways are being discovered, or others are yet to be discovered. In some of the recently conducted research, it is reported that germ cells maintain a record of life encounters as epigenetic memory, and at fetal stages, during PGC speciation, this eventually reprograms the parental epigenome and passes on some of these epigenetic memories to their descendants, which upon translation puts hefty tags in their reproductive success.
Considering some recent research evidence, it is pretty clear that any disruption in germ cells potentially hampers the reproductive capabilities of animals for generations through infertility, sterility, aneuploidy, congenital disorders, tumor and/or sex reversal.
Teleosts models, such as zebrafish and medaka have become increasingly useful in biomedical science and the application of such research models is immensely relevant to the scope of our Research Topic. This topic will therefore provide a platform focusing on the utilization of fish models to investigate the scope of “Germ cell biology to physiology” and will include various aspects such as:
• Germ cell biology and conservation
• Transgenerational effects of epigenetics on reproductive sustainability
• Sexual development and epigenetics
• Model fish epigenetics and omics
The existence of species (organisms of all levels, up to humans) and their biodiversity are delicately sustained in today’s changing world. The current hectic lifestyle, ever-growing industrialization, and consequent increasing environmental degradation impacts all organisms, especially in terms of their reproductive health. Germ cells, a crucial cell lineage uniquely capable of meiosis, distinct from somatic cells, are solely responsible for the trans-generational transmission of genetic information in animals. It is well established that sex-specific changes within the germline occur during fetal development. It takes different forms as primordial germ cells (PGCs), germ line stem cells (GSCs), gonia, oocytes and spermatocytes, and finally, the mature gametes. During their journey, germ cells interact with the surrounding somatic cells and decide their sexually dimorphic fate under the influence of other body physiology of an organism. Extensive research from the past has shown that various signaling pathways work simultaneously in a coordinated (synergistic) or uncoordinated (antagonistic) fashion and collectively bring decisive signaling molecules that decide the developmental fate of these germ cells. However, many unknown pathways are being discovered, or others are yet to be discovered. In some of the recently conducted research, it is reported that germ cells maintain a record of life encounters as epigenetic memory, and at fetal stages, during PGC speciation, this eventually reprograms the parental epigenome and passes on some of these epigenetic memories to their descendants, which upon translation puts hefty tags in their reproductive success.
Considering some recent research evidence, it is pretty clear that any disruption in germ cells potentially hampers the reproductive capabilities of animals for generations through infertility, sterility, aneuploidy, congenital disorders, tumor and/or sex reversal.
Teleosts models, such as zebrafish and medaka have become increasingly useful in biomedical science and the application of such research models is immensely relevant to the scope of our Research Topic. This topic will therefore provide a platform focusing on the utilization of fish models to investigate the scope of “Germ cell biology to physiology” and will include various aspects such as:
• Germ cell biology and conservation
• Transgenerational effects of epigenetics on reproductive sustainability
• Sexual development and epigenetics
• Model fish epigenetics and omics