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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jul 31.
Published in final edited form as: Genesis. 2014 Apr 9;52(5):367–377. doi: 10.1002/dvg.22772

Figure 6.

Figure 6

Genes associated with germ-line determination. Vasa and piwi are factors often associated with germ cell development, and these markers become enriched in the PE in early larval stages. Nodal is a TGF-beta signaling model and is present in the right side of the embryo, and gut, opposite of the PE. We hypothesize that nodal signaling may direct vasa and piwi localization, and perhaps the asymmetry of the PE. Blimp1 is a transcription factor important for somatic endomesoderm formation and is markedly enriched in the gut during gastrulation. Importantly, it is excluded from the PE when it is formed, at a time when vasa and piwi are enriched in the PE, suggesting that clearance of somatic determinants is important in PE formation. Oocytes of this sea star (P. miniata) are ~200 microns in diameter. From (Fresques et al., 2013)