During the past two decades, assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) have revolutionised
the treatment of infertility. ARTs now account for between 1% and 3% of annual births in …

Recent studies suggest a possible link between human assisted reproductive technology
and genomic imprinting disorders. Assisted reproductive technology includes the isolation, …

DNA methylation is a heritable epigenetic modification of cytosine residues within CpG
dinucleotides associated with the modulation of gene expression and found at 20–30 million …

Maintenance of genomic methylation patterns in mammalian somatic cells depends on DNA
methyltransferase-1 (Dnmt1). Mouse oocytes and preimplantation embryos lack Dnmt1 but …

Imprinted genes are differentially marked during germ cell development to allow for their
eventual parent-of-origin specific expression. A subset of imprinted genes becomes methylated …

DNA methylation differences between maternal and paternal alleles of many imprinted
genes are inherited from the male and female gametes and subsequently maintained during …

Mammalian gonadal development and sexual differentiation are complex processes that
require the coordinated expression of a specific set of genes in a strict spatiotemporal manner. …

INTRODUCTION Despite the father transmitting half of the heritable information to the embryo,
the focus of preconception health has been the mother. Paternal effects have been linked …

The spermatozoon and oocyte genomes bear sex-specific methylation patterns that are
established during gametogenesis and are required for the allele-specific expression of …

Imprinted genes play important roles in embryonic growth and development as well as in
placental function. Many imprinted genes acquire their epigenetic marks during oocyte growth, …