Table 1. The role of key genes involved in germ cell formation.

Genes	Role in germ cell development	References
T (BRACHYURY)	Essential for robust activation of Blimp1 and Prdm14	Aramaki et al.101
Blimp1 (PRDM1)	Stabilize germline transcription and repress neuronal differentiation	Sasaki et al.18, 19, 102
Prdm14	Promote the expression of germ cell genes and repress somatic genes	Grabole et al.20, 21
Tcfap2c (AP2γ)	Mediating Prdm1-induced suppression of mesodermal differentiation	Weber et al.103
Fragilis	Promotes germ cell competence from their somatic neighbors	Saito et al.104
Dazl	Regulates the translation of specific transcripts important for germ cell formation	Reynolds et al.105
Mvh (VASA)	Required for progression through meiotic prophase I in male mice	Tanaka et al.106
Stra8	Essential for the initiation of meiosis	Anderson et al.107