Fig. 7. Transcription is initiated earlier in fue embryos. Initiation of mRNA transcription coincides with phosphorylation of the H5 epitope of RNA polymerase II. Labelling with an antibody directed against the phosphorylated form of this epitope is in red, nuclei are labelled with DAPI (blue) while the outline of the cell is visualised with an antibody directed against ß-catenin (green). (A,C) Wild-type and (B,D) fue cells from (A,B) 16-cell stage and (C,D) 32-cell stage embryos. (E,F) Wild-type embryos at the 256-cell stage (E) and 512-cell stage (F). Phosphorylation of the H5 epitope occurs first at the 512-cell stage in wild-type embryos and at the 32-cell stage in fue embryos, showing that the onset of mRNA transcription occurs at an earlier stage in fue embryos. Scale bars: 20 µm.

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