From lessons on the long‐term effects of the preimplantation environment on later health to a “modified ART‐DOHaD” animal model

Abstract

The successful initiation of mammalian embryonic development occurs when the parental gametes unequally cooperate to share their genetic materials. A haploid sperm cell gives a haploid oocyte its properties, including the genomic information (DNA sequence) with its epigenetic marks, 1 which activate the oocyte during fertilization. 2 On the other hand, in addition to the maternal genome, the oocyte provides its cytoplasm comprising a variety of factors, the so-called maternal factors, which are required for the subsequent