New research from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) illuminates aspects of how an early embryo, the product of fertilization of a female egg cell by a male sperm cell, can give rise to all the many cell types of the adult animal. Researchers demonstrated that the hundreds of genes important for controlling embryonic development are all packaged in a unique manner in the early embryo – and even as far back as the paternal sperm – and that this packaging helps control how, when, and where different genes are expressed in the embryo. The findings, published today in the journal Cell, have significant implications for understanding how early development is orchestrated, and provides a mechanism for how parental environment might impact the expression of these genes in the offspring.