The Genetic Beginnings of a Human Embryo Mapped for the Very First Time

First Posted: Sep 03, 2015 11:53 AM EDT

For the first time ever, scientists have mapped all of the genes that are activated in the first few days of a fertilized human egg. The study reveals a bit more about early embryonic development in humans, and could shed some light on what causes infertility.

At the start of an individual's life, there is a single fertilized egg cell. Then one day after fertilization, there are two cells and after two days, there are four and so on until there are billions of cells at birth. The order in which our genes are activated after fertilization, though, has long remained a mystery.

There are about 23,000 human genes in total. In this latest study, though, researchers found that only 32 of these genes are switched on two days after fertilization. By day three, there are 129 activated genes.

"These genes are the 'ignition key' that is needed to turn on human embryonic development," said Juha Kere, one of the researchers, in a news release. "It is like dropping a stone into water and then watching the waves spread across the surface."

The researchers actually developed a new way of analyzing the results in order to find the new genes. The scientists showed that the newly identified genes can interact with the "junk DNA," which is essential for the start of development.

"Our results provide novel insights into the regulation of early embryonic development in human," said Outi Hovatta, one of the researchers. "we identified novel factors that might be used in reprogramming cells into so-called pluripotent stem cells for possible treatment of a range of diseases, and potentially also into the treatment of infertility."

The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

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TagsGenetics, Genes, Genetic, Human, Humans, Embryo, Pregnancy, pregnant, Fertilization