Figure 3: Left-right symmetry breaking of the C. elegans embryo at 4-6 cell stage.

(a–d) 3D volume renderings of a C. elegans embryo (OD95) viewed from the front (a,b) and back (c,d) at two time points of 1.5 min apart at the 4 to 6 cell stage (Cells are segmented and only the cell membrane is rendered). All cells are segmented and rendered in different colours for clearer visualization. (e–h) 3D volume renderings of the segmented EMS, ABa, ABp and P2 cells at the earlier, and (i–l) the later time point, showing the intracellular activities and interactions of different cells. The white, red and yellow arrows mark the activities related to the EMS cell retreating, the ABa cell contractile ring and the ABp cell contractile ring. Scale bars, 5 μm (a–d), 3 μm (e–l).