... unknown. Here, we show that germ plasm localization in zebrafish is similar to that in Xenopus but distinct from Drosophila . We identified non muscle myosin II (NMII) and tight junction (TJ) components, such as ZO2 and claudin-d (Cldn-d) as interaction candidates of Bucky ball (Buc), which is the germ...

...Philip D. Campbell; Amanda E. Heim; Mordechai Z. Smith; Florence L. Marlow In animals, specification of the primordial germ cells (PGCs), the stem cells of the germ line, is required to transmit genetic information from one generation to the next. Bucky ball (Buc) is essential for germ plasm (GP...

...Amanda E. Heim; Odelya Hartung; Sophie Rothhämel; Elodie Ferreira; Andreas Jenny; Florence L. Marlow In vertebrates, the first asymmetries are established along the animal-vegetal axis during oogenesis, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. Bucky ball (Buc) was identified...

... motor protein, is essential for dorsal determination in zebrafish. We found that syntabulin mRNA is transported to the vegetal pole during oogenesis through the Bucky ball (Buc)-mediated Balbiani body-dependent pathway, which is necessary for establishment of animal-vegetal (AV) oocyte polarity. We...