Figure 1. The early embryonic lineage and summary of the distributions of various factors in 4-cell embryos.

Figure 1The early embryonic lineage and summary of the distributions of various factors in 4-cell embryos

(A) Unequal divisions of the germline blastomeres, P0, P1, P2 and P3 generate the somatic blastomeres AB, EMS, C, and D and the primordial germ cell P4. P4 divides equally into Z2 and Z3 at the ~100-cell stage. (B) The cartoons of 4-cell embryos illustrate that P granules are partitioned to the germline blastomeres, PIE-1 resides in the germline cytoplasm and nucleus and also associates with P granules, the MES proteins and MEP-1 are in the nuclei of all cells in early embryos, class II maternal mRNAs persist in the germline blastomeres and are degraded in the somatic blastomeres, and new transcription turns on in the somatic blastomeres and not in the germline blastomeres.

From: Specification of the germ line

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