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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2016 Mar 16;55:80–88. doi: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2016.03.013

Fig. 1. Challenges in leading a precisely timed dynamic program in Drosophila embryos.

Fig. 1

(A) Cell cycles in early syncytial embryos are fast and synchronous which is primarily achieved by preloading the embryo with maternal gene products, omitting gap phases and progressing rapidly through S-phase. (B) During the maternal-to-zygotic transition, embryos execute a series of regulatory changes in response to the N/C ratio. (C) Cell cycle regulation during gastrulation is primarily controlled by precise cellular timers. Nuclei located in the same mitotic domain divide synchronously, whereas each mitotic domain enters mitosis at different times. Green circles depict nuclei in mitotic domain 1 and red circles depict those in mitotic domain 5.