A KINESIN-LIKE PROTEIN IS REQUIRED FOR GERM PLASM AGGREGATION IN XENOPUS

In embryos of X. laevis, and many other species, early development req uires targeted movements of molecules and molecular aggregates within the oocyte or egg cytoplasm. One well-known example in Xenopus is the aggregation of germ plasm, a group of cytoplasmic islands that become distributed during the first few cell cycles to cells that will give r ise to the germ line. Nothing is known about the cytoskeletal motor pr oteins that may drive these movements. We show here that a recently id entified Xenopus kinesin-like protein, Xklp1, is required for the aggr egation of germ plasm in early Xenopus embryos, thus assigning this pr otein a role in a developmentally important cytoplasmic localization.