Study Reveals How the Ovarian Reserve Is Established
Fertility is finite for mammalian females. From birth, females possess a limited number of primordial follicles, collectively called the ovarian reserve. Within each follicle is an oocyte that eventually becomes an egg. But with age, the follicles in the ovarian reserve decrease.
School of Veterinary Medicine Researcher Richard Schultz is among a team of UC Davis scientists and others who recently published their work defining the epigenetic machinery that governs the establishment and function of the mammalian ovarian reserve, providing molecular insights into female reproductive health and lifespan.