MEIOSIN: A New Watchman of Meiotic Initiation in Mammalian Germ Cells

The capacity to undergo meiosis defines vertebrate germ cells, yet mechanisms driving initiation of this specialized process are largely undefined. In this issue of Developmental Cell,Ishiguro et al. (2020) identified the transcription factor MEIOSIN as a gatekeeper of meiotic initiation in both male and female germ cells.