Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026

In Vitro Ovule Cultivation for Live-cell Imaging of Zygote Polarization and Embryo Patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana
Published on: September 11, 2017
Blastocyst axis is specified independently of early cell lineage but aligns with the ZP shape
Yoko Kurotaki1, Kohei Hatta, Kazuki Nakao
1Department of Pathology and Tumor Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
Abstract:
The mechanisms controlling the establishment of the embryonic-abembryonic (E-Ab) axis of the mammalian blastocyst are controversial. We used in vitro time-lapse imaging and in vivo lineage labeling to provide evidence that the E-Ab axis of the mouse blastocyst is generated independently of early cell lineage. Rather, both the boundary between two-cell blastomeres and the E-Ab axis of the blastocyst align relative to the ellipsoidal shape of the zona pellucida (ZP), an extraembryonic structure. Lack of correlation between cell lineage and the E-Ab axis can be explained by the rotation of the embryo within the ZP.
Related Concept Videos
Cleavage and Blastulation
Determining the Plane of Cell Division
Animal cells
In animal cells, the cleavage furrow forms along the plane of cell division starting...
The Phragmoplast
The...
Determining the Plane of Cell Division
Animal cells
In animal cells, the cleavage furrow forms along the plane of cell division starting...
Zygotic Development And Stem Cell Formation
Cellular Differentiation
A zygote is a...

