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Fig. 3 | BMC Evolutionary Biology

Fig. 3

From: Alternative evolution of a spheroidal colony in volvocine algae: developmental analysis of embryogenesis in Astrephomene (Volvocales, Chlorophyta)

Fig. 3

Behavior of daughter protoplasts during embryogenesis in Astrephomene. Time-lapse analyses of lateral views of embryos (Additional files 1 and 3). Images in the same row were obtained using the same magnification. Scale bars: 5 μm. a–c Successive anterior–lateral view images of an embryo at the 8-celled stage (a), late 8-celled stage (b), and early 16-celled stage (c). Note that the rotation of daughter protoplasts is indicated by the positions of the apical ends (arrowheads) and chloroplasts (asterisks) (a, b). The positions of cleavage furrows (arrows) corresponded approximately to the positions of the apical ends in the preceding stage (b, c). d–f Successive posterior–lateral view images of an early 64-celled embryo immediately after the final cleavage (d) and 5 min after the final cleavage (e), and an expanded 64-celled embryo or daughter colony (f). The posterior gap of the cell layer (white arrowhead, d) is closed soon after the last cleavage, and the shape of the daughter protoplasts changes slightly. The orientation of the anterior ends of posterior somatic cells (arrowheads, e, f) changes from lateral to posterior

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