Fig. 3.

HP1α is recruited to pericentric heterochromatin in E10.5–E13.5 germ cells. a Nuclear spread preparations from E10.5 to E11.5 embryos and from E13.5 male and female gonads were stained for HP1α (green). The pericentric heterochromatin of germ cells was always decorated with HP1α. E10.5 and E11.5 germ cells are marked with OCT4 (red), while E13.5 germ cells are marked with TRA98 (red). Four or more embryo trunks or gonads were pooled for the nuclear spread preparations and 20–30 PGC, and somatic nuclei were recorded. Representative germ cells are marked with yellow dashed circles. Scale bars represent 10 μm. b Quantification analysis of HP1α levels in the whole nuclear area (N.A.) and pericentric heterochromatin regions (PHC) in the different embryonic stages examined. Asterisks (* or **) indicate significant differences