Blastocyst axis is specified independently of early cell lineage but aligns with the ZP shape.

The mechanisms controlling the establishment of the embryonic-abembryonic (E-Ab) axis of the mammalian blastocyst are controversial. We used in vitro time-lapse imaging and in vivo lineage labeling to provide evidence that the E-Ab axis of the mouse blastocyst is generated independently of early cell lineage. Rather, both the boundary between two-cell blastomeres and the E-Ab axis of the blastocyst align relative to the ellipsoidal shape of the zona pellucida (ZP), an extraembryonic structure. Lack of correlation between cell lineage and the E-Ab axis can be explained by the rotation of the embryo within the ZP.