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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Apr 16.
Published in final edited form as: Mol Cell. 2015 Apr 9;58(2):339–352. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2015.03.005

Figure 4. A trans-acting limiting factor links gene expression to volume.

Figure 4

A. Representative image of fused cells (heterokaryon, left) and unfused cells (WM983b, primary fibroblast, right). DAPI stain is in orange, GFP mRNA is in green, and GAS6 mRNA is in white. White arrows indicate transcription sites. B. Quantification of GFP mRNA in unfused and fused cells. Box extends to first and third quartile, and whiskers extend to the maximum-distance points within 1.5 inter-quartile ranges of the box. Data are a combination of two biological replicates. C. GFP vs. volume for fused and unfused cells. Upper dashed line represents fit for unfused cells. Lower dashed line has a slope that is half of the upper fit line. D. Schematic of transcriptional output of fused cells if the scaling of expression with volume were mediated by a volume sensor or a volume/DNA sensor. All error bars represent standard error of the mean.