ZYG-12::GFP patches exhibit heterogeneous, independent trajectories along the NE. (A) Diagram of an adult C. elegans hermaphrodite indicating the temporospatial organization of germline nuclei. The rectangle indicates the TZ region imaged in C. ONM, outer nuclear membrane; INM, inner nuclear membrane. (B) Diagram of the organization of NE patches, showing a PC bound by HIM-8 and the associated aggregate of SUN-1 and ZYG-12. (C) Projection of one time point, comprising 33 optical sections (spanning a depth of 6 µm) showing ZYG-12::GFP in TZ nuclei. Meiosis progresses from left to right. (D) Selected projections showing a single TZ nucleus. In the bottom images, colored spheres mark two patches that merge and split (nuclear surface is indicated by a circle in the first image). (E) Colored tracks indicate all the steps for patches shown in D. (F) Selected frames showing a nucleus with six ZYG-12 patches (top) and overlays of the segmented patches (bottom). (G) Colored tracks indicate all the steps for patches shown in F over a 2-min time course. (H) Colored tracks representing all steps over a 2-min time course for all patches in three representative nuclei; each nucleus is shown from two orthogonal viewpoints to highlight the distribution of patches spanning the entire NE. Dotted lines indicate the nuclear surface. Times are given in minutes and seconds. Bars: (C) 5 µm; (D–H) 1 µm.