Infographic: Embryonic Zippering

How actin seals embryos early in development

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After cells in the developing embryo divide, microtubules at the dividing poles of each cell pull actin proteins into a ring. Those rings expand across the cells and, with the help of the motor protein myosin, reshape each cell into a pyramid shape. The changing geometry of the cells allows the blastocyst cavity to form. The cavity becomes sealed as each cell’s ring touches another ring, and as myosin pushes the edges, or junctions, of the rings together, with the help of cell adhesion molecules, zippering the junctions shut. If this process does not happen, embryos may fail to develop normally.

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Meet the Author

  • Ashley Yeager

    Ashley started at The Scientist in 2018. Before joining the staff, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, a writer at the Simons Foundation, and a web producer at Science News, among other positions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree in science writing from MIT. Ashley edits the Scientist to Watch and Profile sections of the magazine and writes news, features, and other stories for both online and print.

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