Developmentally regulated expression of the transcriptional repressor Prdm1 (Blimp1) in the early mammalian embryo controls global epigenetic changes required for specification of primordial germ cells. A new study demonstrates that a close family member, Prdm14, similarly activated in response to Bmp and Smad signals, also has an essential role during establishment of the germ cell lineage.
- Elizabeth K Bikoff
- Elizabeth J Robertson