Fig. 1 |. Distinct chemical features of lipid-rich particles in C. elegans.

a, Lipid intensity map at 2,845 cm⁻¹ and selected ROIs in a wild-type adult worm. The images in c and e–g correspond to the red box in a. b, Retrieved Raman spectra of the selected regions of interest (ROIs) shown in c. c, Selected ROIs 1–5, where ROI 5 is the oocyte nucleus that is lipid-poor. d, Expansion of the frequency region denoted by the dashed outline in b. e, Almost all the lipid-rich particles including ROIs 1–4 contain both a lipid signal (CH₂ stretching at 2,845 cm⁻¹, in yellow) and unsaturated fatty acids (C=C at 1,635–1,650cm⁻¹, in magenta). f, Some of the lipid-rich particles show a protein signal (amide I at 1,665–1,680cm⁻¹, in magenta), examples of which are indicated by arrowheads. g, Plot of the relative unsaturation level in lipid-rich particles using (normalized (1,635–1,650cm⁻¹)/1,450cm⁻¹+normalized 3,010cm⁻¹/1,450cm⁻¹)/2. The two ratios were normalized to the same pixel with the highest ratio. Raman band: 1,450cm⁻¹ for C–C stretching and 3,010cm⁻¹ for =C–H stretching. Scale bars in c and g, 10μm.The same scale bar applies to e and f. The experiments were repeated at least three times, independently, with similar results.