445C Poster - 05. Reproduction and gametogenesis
Saturday April 09, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Authors:
Allie Kemph ¹; Jeremy Lynch ¹; Alexey Arkov ²; Kabita Kharel ²; Samuel Tindell ²

Affiliations:
1) University of Illinois at Chicago; 2) Murray State University

Keywords:
e. primordial germ cells; k. RNA transport and localization

Specification of germ cell fate during embryogenesis is an essential process in sexually reproducing organisms to ensure the correct transmission of parental genetic information to offspring. In many cases it involves germ plasm, a specialized cytoplasmic organelle composed largely of mRNA and RNA-binding proteins that drives germ cell fate determination. There is great variability in morphology and composition among organisms that contain germ plasm. For example, in Drosophila the germ plasm consists of many relatively small granules that remain associated with the posterior pole of the egg until they are taken into individually budding pole cells. In contrast, in the wasp Nasonia vitripennis, germ plasm assembles into an extremely large, dynamic structure, called the "oosome". The oosome migrates anteriorly to 50% egg length, before returning to the posterior pole where a single large bud containing multiple nuclei emerges during pole cell formation. While much is known about the composition of the fly germ plasm, how the structure of the oosome compares is as yet unknown. Here we describe our progress in characterizing the dynamic oosome morphology and determining the spatial arrangement of several oosome mRNA and protein components. These results will be compared to the known homotypic clustering and dynamics of the fly polar granules.