You mention the importance of having enough mitochondria, but I'm curious if you have thoughts on mitochondrial *quality* in the context of in vitro oogenesis? I've recently been reading The Vital Question by Nick Lane, and one of the implications I've gotten from it is that a major function of gametogenesis in complex organisms is to select for high quality mitochondria. This paper from Nick Lane's group presents some of this in a shorter form: https://elifesciences.org/articles/69344
That's a good point, and we're well aware of the need to establish and maintain correct epigenetics. We've made significant progress beyond the state of the art in epigenetic control, although that's about all I can say publicly regarding this for now.
Another thing: natural meiosis doesn't take months (at least if you're talking about progression from leptotene to diplotene arrest). Each cell only spends a few weeks going through this, but meiosis in the ovary is asynchronous so it appears to take several months when viewed at a bulk level.
You mention the importance of having enough mitochondria, but I'm curious if you have thoughts on mitochondrial *quality* in the context of in vitro oogenesis? I've recently been reading The Vital Question by Nick Lane, and one of the implications I've gotten from it is that a major function of gametogenesis in complex organisms is to select for high quality mitochondria. This paper from Nick Lane's group presents some of this in a shorter form: https://elifesciences.org/articles/69344
That's a good point, and we're well aware of the need to establish and maintain correct epigenetics. We've made significant progress beyond the state of the art in epigenetic control, although that's about all I can say publicly regarding this for now.
Another thing: natural meiosis doesn't take months (at least if you're talking about progression from leptotene to diplotene arrest). Each cell only spends a few weeks going through this, but meiosis in the ovary is asynchronous so it appears to take several months when viewed at a bulk level.