In Vivo and In Vitro Approaches Toward Fundamental Mechanisms and Diverse Applications

Germ cells are the “stem cell” of a species. They undergo sexually dimorphic development and differentiate into either spermatozoa or oocytes, uniting to form a totipotent zygote and propagating and diversifying genetic and epigenetic information across generations. To fulfill this essential function, germ-cell development entails unique mechanisms that regulate genome function in a systematic and comprehensive manner, including epigenetic reprogramming/programming, meiotic chromosome recombination, and high-fidelity genome replication. Importantly, these mechanisms are achieved in a coordinated manner through instructive signaling from somatic tissues, most notably, gonadal somatic cells. Accordingly, anomalies in relevant mechanisms lead to critical conditions such as infertility and genetic and epigenetic disorders of offspring. Extensive efforts have been made by investigators around the world to elucidate the mechanism of germ-cell development, which is of fundamental relevance in both basic biology and medicine. Remarkably, recent advances in key technologies, including single-cell genomics, sophisticated imaging, and stem-cell culture, have begun to clarify the mechanism of germ-cell development at an unprecedented resolution and to achieve pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-based in vitro reconstitution of germ-cell development, not only in mice, a representative mammalian model organism, but also in other species, particularly, humans, together, creating an unparalleled opportunity for diverse applications. This conference will bring together international scientists at the forefront of relevant research, with the goal of sharing the rapid developments in the field and helping establish collaborations across disciplines and across nations, serving as a key platform to discuss and create future directions among community members.