Krista R. Gert

Evolutionary conservation of embryonic DNA methylome remodelling in distantly related teleost species

The paper compares DNA methylation dynamics in medaka and zebrafish embryos, showing conserved remodelling patterns without global erasure, and identifies conserved non-canonical methylation reprogramming.

Distinct features in fish Bouncer proteins determine sperm-egg compatibility

The paper identifies specific amino acid residues and N-glycosylation patterns in Bouncer proteins that mediate species-specific sperm-egg compatibility between medaka and zebrafish.

SCON - A Short Conditional intrON for conditional knockout with one-step zygote injection

This paper introduces SCON, a short conditional intron for conditional knockout via one-step zygote injection, showing its function across vertebrate species.

Sperm membrane proteins DCST1 and DCST2 are required for the sperm-egg fusion process in mice and fish

This study shows that DCST1 and DCST2 are essential for sperm-egg fusion in mice and zebrafish, with mutations leading to male infertility.

Reciprocal zebrafish-medaka hybrids reveal maternal control of zygotic genome activation timing

This study uses reciprocal zebrafish-medaka hybrids to show that maternal factors primarily control the timing of zygotic genome activation.

Maternally-inherited anti-sense piRNAs antagonize transposon expression in teleost embryos

The paper identifies maternally-deposited antisense piRNAs that silence transposons in zebrafish embryos by targeting young LTR retrotransposons and promoting H3K9me2/3 modification.

The Ly6/uPAR protein Bouncer is necessary and sufficient for species-specific fertilization

This study identifies Bouncer, a Ly6/uPAR protein in zebrafish oocytes, as essential for species-specific fertilization and shows it can enable cross-species fertilization between zebrafish and medaka.