The propagation of our species, as in other animals, depends on the production of specialized reproductive cells, one generated by each sex.
Males produce sperm, while females produce eggs.
In embryonic development in humans and many other animals, germ cells originate outside the portion of the embryo that will form the body. These primordial germ cells then invade the developing body and migrate to the gonads, which at that early stage are indistinguishable in males and females. Soon thereafter, the gonads differentiate into ovaries, in females, or testes, in males. The primordial germ cells, finding themselves in either an ovarian or testicular environment, become committed to give rise to either eggs or sperm. Our laboratory uses genetic tools to explore the development of the mammalian reproductive tract.