Candidate genes selected by their differential expression in ESCs and PGCs.

(A) Venn diagram showing transcription factor genes (left) and epigenetic regulatory factor genes whose expression is different between ESCs and PGCs at E9.5 (red circle), E11.5 (blue circle), and E13.5 (green circle). GEO:assession: GSE30056 (E9.5 PGC and ESC)[22], GSE67616 (E11.5 PGC and ESC)[18], GSE45181 (E13.5 PGC and ESC)[23]. (B, C) Confirmation of differential expression of candidate genes by RT-qPCR. Relative expression levels in VR15-ESCs and BVSC-ESCs compared with those in E12.5 PGCs. Genes whose expression is more than 10 times higher (B) or lower (C) in ESCs than in PGCs are shown. The expression of the remaining genes is shown in S1 Fig. Error bars show the SE of three independent experiments. *p < 0.05, **p<0.01, ***p < 0.001.