{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,4]],"date-time":"2026-07-04T07:58:10Z","timestamp":1783151890038,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"CSIRO Publishing","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,27]],"date-time":"2025-05-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748304000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":1579,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1071\/journalslicense"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Development of primordial germ cells (PGCs: precursors to adult gametes) is a key process in vertebrate sexual differentiation. Marsupials are ideal to investigate this phenomenon because much of PGC migration and development unusually occurs postnatally in pouch young. However, investigation of the molecular dynamics underpinning PGC development is restricted to one marsupial model species: the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii). Given the reproductive diversity among clades, marsupial PGCs likely exhibit diversity in molecular patterns that could help uncover their developmental dynamics. Here we characterise PGC marker expression (SSEA1 and DDX4) in developing ovaries of the brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula. Female germ cells expressed DDX4 from 6 days postpartum (dpp) and almost all germ cells expressed DDX4 by meiosis (40 dpp), consistent with M. eugenii and eutherian mammals. In contrast, PGCs and oogonia expressed SSEA1 from 12 dpp, throughout proliferation and until entry into meiosis (40\u201363 dpp). SSEA1 expression was temporally distinct from that of M. eugenii, in which SSEA1 expression persists only until 14 dpp, indicating differential expression between marsupial species at equivalent stages of germ cell development. Hence, the molecular characteristics of M. eugenii germ cells cannot be assumed for all marsupials, as at least one key molecule exhibits species-specific expression.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1071\/rd20203","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,28]],"date-time":"2021-01-28T18:03:52Z","timestamp":1611857032000},"page":"189-197","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Primordial germ cell expression of SSEA1 and DDX4 (VASA) in female Trichosurus vulpecula (Marsupialia) reveals conserved and unique molecular patterns during marsupial germ cell development"],"prefix":"10.1071","volume":"33","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0733-3065","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Melanie K.","family":"Laird","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"ADepartment of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, Aotearoa 9016, New Zealand."},{"name":"BCorresponding author. Email: melanie.laird@otago.ac.nz"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Timothy A.","family":"Hore","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ADepartment of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, Aotearoa 9016, New Zealand."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"67","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025102820133232700_R1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"319","DOI":"10.1530\/JRF.0.0670319","article-title":"Germ cell development in female pouch young of the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii).","volume":"67","author":"Alcorn","year":"1983","journal-title":"J. Reprod. Fertil."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"136","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-213X-7-136","article-title":"Conserved and divergent patterns of expression of DAZL, VASA and OCT4 in the germ cells of the human fetal ovary and testis.","volume":"7","author":"Anderson","year":"2007","journal-title":"BMC Dev. Biol."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R3"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R4","unstructured":"Chung, J. W. (2010). Molecular pathways regulating gonadal development in the marsupial, Macropus eugenii. PhD thesis, University of Melbourne."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"80","DOI":"10.1095\/BIOLREPROD.111.093070","article-title":"Seminiferous cord formation is regulated by hedgehog signalling in the marsupial.","volume":"86","author":"Chung","year":"2012","journal-title":"Biol. Reprod."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"75","DOI":"10.1071\/ZO9730075","article-title":"A live-trapping of Australian brush-tailed possums, Trichosurus vulpecula (Kerr), in the Orongorongo Valley, Wellington, New Zealand.","volume":"21","author":"Crawley","year":"1973","journal-title":"Aust. J. Zool."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"348","DOI":"10.1159\/000266170","article-title":"A marsupial, Trichosurus vulpecula, DDX4\/VASA gene (TvDDX4) of the DEAD box protein family: molecular conservation and germline expression.","volume":"126","author":"Cui","year":"2009","journal-title":"Cytogenet. Genome Res."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R8","first-page":"349","article-title":"Characterization of stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 (SSEA-1) expression during early development of the turkey embryo.","volume":"43","author":"D\u2019Costa","year":"1999","journal-title":"Int. J. Dev. Biol."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"346","DOI":"10.1095\/BIOLREPROD66.2.346","article-title":"Gene expression of the tyrosine kinase receptor c-kit during ovarian development in the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula).","volume":"66","author":"Eckery","year":"2002","journal-title":"Biol. Reprod."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"443","DOI":"10.1159\/000329245","article-title":"Detection of four germ cell markers in rats during testis morphogenesis: Differences and similarities with mice.","volume":"195","author":"Encinas","year":"2012","journal-title":"Cells Tissues Organs"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R11"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"391","DOI":"10.1016\/0012-1606(81)90487-5","article-title":"Immunohistochemical localization of the early embryonic antigen (SSEA-1) in postimplantation mouse embryos and fetal and adult tissues.","volume":"83","author":"Fox","year":"1981","journal-title":"Dev. Biol."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"59","DOI":"10.1002\/JEZ.A.10291","article-title":"The marsupial placenta: A phylogenetic analysis.","volume":"299","author":"Freyer","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Exp. Zool. A Comp. Exp. Biol."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"135","DOI":"10.1242\/dev.120.1.135","article-title":"Interactions between primordial germ cells play a role in their migration in mouse embryos.","volume":"120","author":"Gomperts","year":"1994","journal-title":"Development"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"393","DOI":"10.1146\/ANNUREV-GENOM-091212-153452","article-title":"Marsupials in the age of genomics.","volume":"14","author":"Graves","year":"2013","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Genomics Hum. Genet."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/RSPB.2017.1694","article-title":"A pronounced pro-inflammatory response at parturition is an ancient feature in marsupials.","volume":"284","author":"Hansen","year":"2017","journal-title":"Proc. Biol. Sci."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1186\/S12861-015-0054-0","article-title":"Development of the follicular basement membrane during human gametogenesis and early folliculogenesis.","volume":"15","author":"Heeren","year":"2015","journal-title":"BMC Dev. Biol."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"185","DOI":"10.1242\/BIO.013847","article-title":"On the development of extragonadal and gonadal human germ cells.","volume":"5","author":"Heeren","year":"2016","journal-title":"Biol. Open"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R19"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"733","DOI":"10.1095\/BIOLREPROD.111.091629","article-title":"DDX4 (VASA) is conserved in germ cell development in marsupials and monotremes.","volume":"85","author":"Hickford","year":"2011","journal-title":"Biol. Reprod."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"217","DOI":"10.1093\/BIOLRE\/IOX083","article-title":"Expression of STRA8 is conserved in therian mammals but expression of CYP26B1 differs between marsupials and mice.","volume":"97","author":"Hickford","year":"2017","journal-title":"Biol. Reprod."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"589","DOI":"10.1093\/HUMREP\/DEM411","article-title":"Expression of pluripotent stem cell markers in the human fetal ovary.","volume":"23","author":"Kerr","year":"2008","journal-title":"Hum. Reprod."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1002\/MRD.22940","article-title":"Non-invasive placentation in the marsupials Macropus eugenii (Macropodidae) and Trichosurus vulpecula (Phalangeridae) involves redistribution of uterine Desmoglein-2.","volume":"85","author":"Laird","year":"2018","journal-title":"Mol. Reprod. Dev."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-416027-9.00005-X","article-title":"Primordial germ-cell development and epigenetic reprogramming in mammals.","volume":"104","author":"Leitch","year":"2013","journal-title":"Curr. Top. Dev. Biol."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R25","first-page":"1251","article-title":"Characterization of stage-specific antigen-1 expression during early stages of human embryogenesis.","volume":"12","author":"Liu","year":"2004","journal-title":"Oncol. Rep."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R26","first-page":"167","article-title":"Growth of the marsupial Trichosurus vulpecula and a comparison with some higher mammals.","volume":"21","author":"Lyne","year":"1957","journal-title":"Growth"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R27","first-page":"43","article-title":"Gonadal development in the opossum Monodelphis domestica: the rete ovarii does not contribute to the steroidogenic tissues.","volume":"183","author":"Maitland","year":"1993","journal-title":"J. Anat."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/S0012-1606(03)00214-8","article-title":"Primordial germ cells in the mouse.","volume":"262","author":"McLaren","year":"2003","journal-title":"Dev. Biol."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R29"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R30"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"119","DOI":"10.1677\/JOE.0.0250119","article-title":"Reproduction in the marsupial Trichosurus vulpecula.","volume":"25","author":"Pilton","year":"1962","journal-title":"J. Endocrinol."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R32","unstructured":"R Core Team (2017). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. https:\/\/www.R-project.org\/."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"S21","DOI":"10.1016\/J.PLACENTA.2009.12.023","article-title":"Marsupials: placental mammals with a difference.","volume":"31","author":"Renfree","year":"2010","journal-title":"Placenta"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R34","first-page":"557","article-title":"Germ cells, gonads and sex reversal in marsupials.","volume":"45","author":"Renfree","year":"2001","journal-title":"Int. J. Dev. Biol."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"231","DOI":"10.1071\/RD00123","article-title":"The influence of estrogen on the developing male marsupial.","volume":"13","author":"Renfree","year":"2001","journal-title":"Reprod. Fertil. Dev."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"14","DOI":"10.1186\/1756-8935-6-14","article-title":"Postnatal epigenetic reprogramming in the germline of a marsupial, the tammar wallaby.","volume":"6","author":"Suzuki","year":"2013","journal-title":"Epigenetics Chromatin"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"139","DOI":"10.1016\/S0925-4773(00)00283-5","article-title":"Expression and intracellular localization of mouse Vasa homologue protein during germ cell development.","volume":"93","author":"Toyooka","year":"2000","journal-title":"Mech. Dev."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"162","DOI":"10.1071\/ZO9550162","article-title":"Observations on the reproduction and ecology of the brush-tailed possum, Trichosurus vulpecula Kerr (Marsupialia), New Zealand.","volume":"3","author":"Tyndale-Biscoe","year":"1955","journal-title":"Aust. J. Zool."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R39"},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R40","first-page":"581","article-title":"Observations on the primordial germ cells of bandicoots (Peramelidae, Marsupialia).","volume":"132","author":"Ullmann","year":"1981","journal-title":"J. Anat."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R41","first-page":"651","article-title":"Development of the ovary in the brushtail possum Trichosurus vulpecula (Marsupialia).","volume":"189","author":"Ullmann","year":"1996","journal-title":"J. Anat."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R42","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"135","DOI":"10.1530\/JRF.0.1100135","article-title":"Migration of primordial germ cells to the developing gonadal ridges in the tammar wallaby Macropus eugenii.","volume":"110","author":"Ullmann","year":"1997","journal-title":"J. Reprod. Fertil."},{"key":"2025102820133232700_R43"}],"container-title":["Reproduction, Fertility and Development"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/connectsci.au\/rd\/article-pdf\/33\/3\/189\/316972\/rd20203.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"syndication"},{"URL":"https:\/\/connectsci.au\/rd\/article-pdf\/33\/3\/189\/316972\/rd20203.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,29]],"date-time":"2025-10-29T00:13:41Z","timestamp":1761696821000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/connectsci.au\/rd\/article\/33\/3\/189\/50687\/Primordial-germ-cell-expression-of-SSEA1-and-DDX4"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,29]]},"references-count":43,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,4]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1071\/rd20203","relation":{},"ISSN":["1031-3613","1448-5990"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1031-3613","type":"print"},{"value":"1448-5990","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,1,29]]}}}