Oocyte aging is one of the leading causes for infertility, congenital defects and natural mischarges. Large body of data accumulated on the different phases of oogenesis, but our knowledge of how these stages are orchestrated is lacking.
A research team led by Dr. Yonatan Tzur uncovered recently that a gene called ogr-2 controls oogenesis progression by turning off the MAP Kinase pathway. The team reported engineering deletions in the gene in the worm C. elegans. These mutations led to aberrant dynamics of oogenesis, many cells died, and fertility was reduced. Surprisingly, these worms had at an early age oocyte morphology which is usually present only in old worms.
The team now investigates if oocyte aging can be modulated by attenuating the MAP Kinase pathway.  

Read the paper published in Genetics