{"id":13476,"date":"2019-11-21T21:18:48","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T02:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/?p=13476"},"modified":"2020-10-28T21:55:59","modified_gmt":"2020-10-29T01:55:59","slug":"committed-to-reproduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biology.mit.edu\/committed-to-reproduction\/","title":{"rendered":"Committed to reproduction"},"content":{"rendered":"
Cambridge, MA –\u00a0Early in mammalian embryonic development, long before the organism\u2019s ultimate form has taken shape, a precious subset of its cells are set aside for future use in creating offspring. This task bestows on that subset of cells a special kind of immortality. While the majority of the embryo\u2019s cells go on to construct the growing body, and their journey begins and ends in that body, the cells that are set aside, called primordial germ cells (PGCs), will eventually produce sperm and eggs, which will in turn produce a new body\u2014and so the circle of life continues.<\/p>\n