Control early
embryo development.
Maternal effect
genes are genes of the mother that code for
cytoplasmic determinants, substances deposited by the mother in the
eggs she produces that regulate the
expression of genes affecting the early development of the embryo
The products of maternal effect genes determine the
body axes of the
offspring.
Experiments lead to the understandng of how these genes work. The principle that a
gradient of
molecules can determine
polarity and
position has proven to be a key developmental concept, that the
concentration of the products of the genes signal the
determination of axes.