Back In Time: Fish Oocyte As A Superior Model For Human Reproduction? A Review

Abstract The progress of reproductive biotechnology is dependent on the amount, quality, and availability of female gametes – oocytes. The proper selection of a suitable model organism is vital to ensure effective research of the signal pathways that regulate oogenesis and meiotic maturation. Many factors are involved in meiosis regulation and some of them are evolutionarily conserved. Xenopus laevis is a traditional model for cell cycle research, which has become a background for a more detailed study of models that are similar to humans. In contrast to mammalian models, water-living vertebrates are appropriate models for studying effects of environmentally occurring pollutants such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The triploid gynogenetic Prussian carp is a unique biological model for reproduction studies. The ability of clone production in combination with alternative sexual mode of reproduction brings advantages for the testing of sensitiveness to the effects of EDCs in terms of studying the alternative molecular pathways in meiosis regulations. The aim of this review is to compare meiosis regulating pathways among various animal models, and to suggest the possible utilization of these models in researching EDCs. A comparison of the currently recognized oocyte signalization and the endocrine disruptor effect points out the need for their molecular target identification and introduces some in water living vertebrates as suitable study models.