Fig. 3. Germ cell mitosis is misregulated in slmb germline clones. Ring canals are visualized by TRITC-Phalloidin staining. (A) In wild-type egg chambers, the oocyte (marked with a broken line) connects to neighboring nurse cells through four ring canals. (B) An oocyte (broken line) from a slmb germline clone exhibits five ring canals, indicating that an extra round of mitosis has occurred. (C) slmb mutant egg chamber with extra germ cells and two oocytes (arrows). (D) Higher magnification image of the oocyte on the right in C, showing that in these follicles, oocytes exhibit four ring canals (arrows). (E) In a slmb mutant ovariole, the egg chamber on the right has only two germ cells connected by a single ring canal (arrow) and exhibit very big nuclei (white arrowhead); in the same ovariole, the egg chamber on the left has the normal complement of germ cells and their nuclei are much smaller (open arrowhead). (F) Western blot analysis of E2f complex components in ovarian extracts with slmb germline clones (GLC), compared with those of wild-type ovaries; whereas E2f1 does not show obvious differences, Dp and E2f2 were clearly reduced in slmb mutant ovaries.