Syncytial specification is one mode of cell commitment that utilizes autonomous and conditional specification mechanisms. It occurs in a cytoplasm that contains multiple nuclei, known as a syncytium. The cytoplasm contains gradients that control cell fate along the egg cell's anterior-posterior axis. As nuclei are positioned along the anterior-posterior axis after fertilization, they experience different concentrations of cytoplasmic determinants. This interaction between the multiple nuclei and the differing amounts of determinants give rise to differing cell fates.