Bmi1 protein expression profile in the early mouse embryo. (A) Bmi1 staining in a four-cell stage embryo as assessed by immunofluorescence. (B) Examples of Bmi1 staining alongside Nanog and Gata6 in eight-cell, 29-cell, and 40-cell stage embryos. The white arrow highlights an example of blastomeres coexpressing Bmi1 and Gata6 but not Nanog. (C) Counting of blastomeres expressing Bmi1, Gata6, and/or Nanog in 29-cell up to 43-cell stage embryos (n = 26 embryos, 493 cells). P-values were calculated using the Wilcoxon test.