[3] Thus, although the majority of oocytes are produced in female fetuses before birth, these pre-eggs remain arrested in the dictyate stage until puberty commences and the cells complete ootidogenesis.
[4] The dictyate appears to be an adaptation for efficiently removing damages in germ line DNA by homologous recombinational repair.
[5] DNA repair capability appears to be a key quality control mechanism in the female germ line and a critical determinant of fertility.
Two such molecules, that impedes initiation factors, are CPEB and maskin, which bind to CPE (cytoplasmic polyadenylation element).
On the other hand, dissolution of the CPEB/maskin complex leads to eIF-4E binding to the initiation factor eIF-4G,[6] and thus translation starts, which contributes to the end of dictyate and further maturation of the oocyte.