Spindle positioning in mammalian oocytes

To preserve the maternal stores accumulated during oogenesis for further embryo development, oocytes divide asymmetrically which minimizes the volume of cytoplasm lost with each set of haploid genome. To ensure asymmetric division to occur, oocytes have to position their division spindle asymmetrically as well as tailor the size of daughter cells to the chromatin mass. In this review, we will discuss the recent advances in the field, with emphasis on the control mechanisms involved in meiotic spindle positioning in mammalian oocytes. (c) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.