Transport of germ plasm on astral microtubules directs germ cell development in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In many organisms, germ cells are segregated from the soma through the inheritance of the specialized germ plasm, which contains mRNAs and proteins that specify germ cell fate and promote germline development. Whereas germ plasm assembly has been well characterized, mechanisms mediating germ plasm inheritance are poorly understood. In the Drosophila embryo, germ plasm is anchored to the posterior cortex, and nuclei that migrate into this region give rise to the germ cell progenitors, or pole cells. How the germ plasm interacts with these nuclei for pole cell induction and is selectively incorporated into the forming pole cells is not known.

Results

Live imaging of two conserved germ plasm components, nanos mRNA and Vasa protein, revealed that germ plasm segregatio

SUBMITTER: Lerit DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3062663 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature