A. Kress, A COMPARISON OF OOCYTE ORGANELLES IN MONODELPHIS-DOMESTICA WITH THOSEOF OTHER MARSUPIALS AND EUTHERIANS, Reproduction, fertility and development, 8(4), 1996, pp. 521-533
This paper reviews the current knowledge of oocyte cytology in marsupi
als, particularly Monodelphis domestica, and eutherian mammals. Some o
f the conspicuous features will be described and their function discus
sed. Despite many fundamental similarities between the oocytes of euth
erian mammals and marsupials, some aspects are different (e.g. growth
pattern, final size, timetable of cytoplasmic maturation and utilizati
on of storage material during early cleavage stages), when most of the
vesicles are extruded into the perivitelline space in marsupials.