Fig. 5

Germ plasm aggregates can undergo fragmentation before RNP dispersal. A,A′: In the early blastula embryo, elongated germ plasm aggregates appear intact and are present in a single blastomere. B,B′: In the mid‐blastula embryo, these aggregates can be observed to undergo fragmentation and are now present in multiple cells. C,C′: In the late blastula/early gastrula embryo, germ plasm aggregates undergo RNP cytoplasmic dispersal. Through the blastula stages (A–B′), germ plasm aggregates exhibit a distinct boundary with the cytoplasm, suggesting subcellular compartmentalization and indicating that germ plasm fragmentation occurs before germ plasm RNP dispersal. Germ plasm labeled using in situ hybridization to detect nanos RNA, cell membranes labeled with anti‐ß‐catenin antibodies, DNA labeled with DAPI. All images are confocal Z‐projections. Scale bars = 100 μm in A–C, 10 μm in A′–C′.