maternal RNAs are preferentially maintained in germline blastomeres. In some embryos hybridized to the
nos-2 probe, in situ signal appeared concentrated in small dots around the nuclei of germline blastomeres. The majority of
nos-2 positive foci were also recognized by the K76 antibody for P granules. Not all
nos-2 transcripts, however, appear to be localized on P granules, since significant levels of
nos-2 RNA could also be detected throughout the cytoplasm of somatic blastomeres that do not contain P granules.