Zussman Jay W, Skinner Dominic J, Wagner Daniel E, Shvartsman Stanislav Y, Laird Diana J
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Center for Reproductive Sciences, Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA; email:
Center for Computational Biology, Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, New York, NY, USA.
Annu Rev Genet. 2025 Nov;59(1):237-270. doi: 10.1146/annurev-genet-021925-093551. Epub 2025 Aug 8.
The formation and maintenance of the finite mammalian ovarian reserve are critical for fertility and species survival. Genetic and developmental studies have uncovered various mechanisms underlying oocyte development and maturation, revealing two curious features of the ovarian germline: () The establishment of the follicle reserve involves an initial massive overproduction of oocyte precursors, and () the total number of ovulated oocytes across an animal's fertile lifetime is a very small proportion of the initial ovarian reserve. Many have proposed that this indicates the existence of selective quality control to ensure gamete fitness. Here, we review the findings underlying the hypotheses for germline quality control during prepubertal development, homeostatic fertility, and reproductive aging. We evaluate whether the existing evidence base distinguishes the active selection of specific germ cell subsets from neutral dynamics. Throughout, we discuss strategies for applying statistical frameworks to evaluate selection in oogenesis and the implications of neutrality versus selection at various points in oocyte development.
有限的哺乳动物卵巢储备的形成和维持对于生育能力和物种生存至关重要。遗传学和发育学研究揭示了卵母细胞发育和成熟的各种潜在机制，揭示了卵巢生殖系的两个奇特特征：（）卵泡储备的建立涉及卵母细胞前体的初始大量过度产生，以及（）在动物的可育寿命期间排出的卵母细胞总数在初始卵巢储备中所占比例非常小。许多人提出，这表明存在选择性质量控制以确保配子健康。在这里，我们回顾了青春期前发育、稳态生育能力和生殖衰老期间生殖系质量控制假说的相关研究结果。我们评估现有证据是否能区分特定生殖细胞亚群的主动选择与中性动态变化。在整个过程中，我们讨论应用统计框架来评估卵子发生中的选择的策略，以及卵母细胞发育不同阶段中性与选择的影响。
