These movies shows the migration of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in the embryonic mouse between E9 and E10.5 (corresponding to Carnegie stage 9 to 12). PGCs are initially highly motile but restricted to the hindgut region, from where they then migrate out and accumulate in the genital (gonadal) ridges (see Note). Movies kindly provided by Kathleen Molyneaux. (More? Development of the Reproductive System | Reference | Molyneaux Lab | Acknowledgement)
Page Links: Introduction | Overview | Mouse E9.0 | Mouse E9.5 | Mouse E10.5 | Germ Cell Migration - Other Species | References | Glossary
Mouse E9.0 | Mouse E9.5 | Mouse E10.5
Primordial Germ Cells expressing eGFP (light green)
PGC Motility Stages
(See movie details below, note all movies on this page are looped)
Reference: Molyneaux KA, Stallock J, Schaible K, Wylie C. [See Related Articles] Time-lapse analysis of living mouse germ cell migration. Dev Biol. 2001 Dec 15;240(2):488-98.
Abstract: "In mouse embryos, the primordial germ cells arise during gastrulation prior to, and distant from, the prospective gonads. Observations of PGCs in culture, and in fixed sections, have suggested, but not proved, that they migrate to the gonad by a process of active migration. The opaque nature of the early mouse embryo has precluded direct observation. Using confocal microscopy, we have filmed living PGCs expressing eGFP in tissue slices from mouse embryos at different stages of development. We find four clearly distinct phases of PGC migration. First, until E9.0-E9.5, PGCs are already highly motile, but do not leave the gut. Second, in the E9.0-E9.5 period, before the mesentery forms, PGCs very rapidly exit the gut, but do not migrate towards the genital ridges" (See amendment in Note) "Third, during the E10.0-E10.5 period, PGCs migrate directionally from the dorsal body wall into the genital ridges. In contrast to the prevailing model of germ cell migration, very few, if any, PGCs found in the gut mesentery at E10.5 migrate into the genital ridges. Finally, at E11.5, PGCs are slowing and the direction of movement is dependent on the sex of the embryo. This allows, for the first time, a formal description of the events of PGC migration in the mouse."
Note: Additional detailed movies are available in supplemental material to the above paper. Amendment - All experiments in the above paper were performed in the presence of serum, which inhibits germ cell migration. Without serum, PGCs leave the gut and move towards the genital ridges.
Recent Reviews: Molyneaux K, Wylie C. Primordial germ cell migration. Int J Dev Biol. 2004;48(5-6):537-44. Review. | Raz E. Guidance of primordial germ cell migration. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2004 Apr;16(2):169-73. Review.
Zebrafish Ramasamy S, Wang H, Quach HN, Sampath K. Zebrafish Staufen1 and Staufen2 are required for the survival and migration of primordial germ cells. Dev Biol. 2006 Apr 15;292(2):393-406.
Medaka (Oryzias latipes) Kurokawa H, Aoki Y, Nakamura S, Ebe Y, Kobayashi D, Tanaka M. Time-lapse analysis reveals different modes of primordial germ cell migration in the medaka Oryzias latipes. Dev Growth Differ. 2006 Apr;48(3):209-21.
Drosophila melanogaster Sano H, Renault AD, Lehmann R. Control of lateral migration and germ cell elimination by the Drosophila melanogaster lipid phosphate phosphatases Wunen and Wunen 2. J Cell Biol. 2005 Nov 21;171(4):675-83.
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Movies on this page show in sequence the migration of labelled primordial germ cells within the early mouse embryo (E9 to E10.5) from the hindgut region into the genital ridges and their accumulation in this region. (More? Development of the Reproductive System)
Movies are Quicktime 7 with the new H264 compression format, that require Quicktime (a free downlaod) to be installed on your computer.
Movies automatically loop, use the control strip at the bottom of each movie to start and stop the movie and controller can also be dragged back or forth.
UNSW Embryology has many movies to show some of the dynamic changes that occur during embryonic development. These have been grouped together on separate pages (listed in righthand menu) that can be also be opened from a pull down menu on each page.
Internet users note that some of these movies are large and will take some time to download depending on your connection speed.
There also an about movies page which has technical details and terms listed.
Please email Dr Mark Hill if you wish to make a comment about this current project.