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Early development of embryos is a pivotal process of life.Abnormal development of human embryos can be causes of abortion,birth defects and adult diseases.In vertebrates,embryos start to regional differentiation of cell fates during blastulation;gastrulation leads to the formation of three germ layers,that is,ectoderm,mesoderm and endoderm,which is accompanied by cell differentiation along the anteroposterior and dorsoventral axes.Forward and reverse genetic studies have established that Wnt,Nodal,BMP and Fgf signaling pathways play important roles in early embryonic development.Using the zebrafish model system,we have identified dozens of maternal and zygotic factors and demonstrated that these factors regulate embryonic development by modulating distinct signaling pathways.There is no doubt that many more important factors for embryonic development are yet to be identified.