A kaleidoscopic view of ovarian genes associated with infertility, subfertility and senescence

Ovarian infertility and subfertility presenting with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) and diminished ovarian reserve are major issues facing in the developed world due to the trend of delaying child birth. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine and metabolic disorder affecting 6-10% of women in reproductive age. Based on advances in whole exome sequencing, evaluation of gene copy variants, together with family-based and genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we discussed genes responsible for the POI, PCOS, and ovarian senescence. We used a gene-centric approach to sort out literature deposited in the Ovarian Kaleidoscope database (http://okdb.appliedbioinfo.net) by sub-categorizing candidate genes as ligand-receptor signaling, meiosis and DNA repair, transcriptional factors, RNA metabolism, enzymes, and others. We discussed individual gene mutations found in POI patients and verification of gene functions in gene-deleted model organisms. Decreases in the expressio...