Localization of RNAs to the mitochondrial cloud in Xenopus oocytes through entrapment and association with endoplasmic reticulum.

The germ cell lineage in Xenopus is specified by the inheritance of germ plasm, which originates within a distinct "mitochondrial cloud" (MC) in previtellogenic oocytes. Germ plasm contains localized RNAs implicated in germ cell development, including Xcat2 and Xdazl. To understand the mechanism of the early pathway through which RNAs localize to the MC, we applied live confocal imaging and photobleaching analysis to oocytes microinjected with fluorescent Xcat2 and Xdazl RNA constructs.