Fertilization and the first cleavage mitosis in insects

Fertilization in animals is now considered to be of the "sea urchin type"; that is, haploid male and female pronuclei completely fuse shortly after sperm entry into the egg, followed by the formation of a mitotic spindle to allow cleavage mitoses to proceed. However, two other patterns of fertilization and early embryonic mitosis in some animal species are known: an Ascaris type and a gonomeric type. The gonomeric type of fertilization in insects and other arthropods is not well known and is quite different from the sea urchin and Ascaris types. In the present article, the author examines the peculiar gonomeric fertilization, using mainly the silkworm as an example.     

Cytology of egg maturation in the silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) in artificial parthenogenesis

The orientation of bivalentss in the first meiotic metaphase was studied on the squash preparations and sections of eggs in Bombyx mori L., Antheraea pernyi Guèr and Carpocapsa pomonella L. The reduction fissure of bivalents separating the homologous chromosomes lies in the plane of spindle equator; the equation fissure separating the sister chromatids is parallel to the long spindle axis. Complicated rearrangements are observed in the nuclei of the silkworm eggs stimulated to ameiotic parthenogenesis by the high temperature dissociation of bivalents, full destruction of spindle, formation of a new spindle and metaphase plate. The latter includes univalent chromosomes involved in the equation division. As a result, two genetically identical pronuclei with the somatic set of chromosomes are formed.     

The second meiosis occurs in cytochalasin D-treated eggs of Corbicula leana even though it is not observed in control androgenetic eggs because the maternal chromosomes and centrosomes are extruded at first meiosis

The hermaphroditic freshwater clam Corbicula leana reproduces by androgenesis. In the control (androgenetic development), all maternal chromosomes and maternal centrosomes at the meiotic poles were extruded as the two first polar bodies, and subsequently, second meiosis did not occur. But, in C. leana eggs treated with cytochalasin D (CD) to inhibit polar body extrusion, the second meiosis occurred. At metaphase-I, the spindle showed the typical bipolar structure and two spheroid centrosomes were located at its poles. All the maternal chromosomes were divided at anaphase-I, but they were not extruded as polar bodies due to the effects of CD. After completion of first meiosis, the maternal centrosomes split into four. At the second meiosis, twin or tetrapolar spindles were formed and two groups of maternal chromosomes divided into four sets of chromosomes. After the second meiosis, the spindle disassociated and the four maternal centrosomes disappeared. Four groups of maternal chromosomes transformed into the four female pronuclei. Male and female pronuclei became metaphase chromosomes of the first mitosis. The present study clearly indicates that typical meiosis systems still proceed in androgenetic triploid C. leana. We conclude that the androgenetic form may have arisen from the meiotic form.     

Paternal chromosome incorporation into the zygote nucleus is controlled by maternal haploid in Drosophila

maternal haploid (mh) is a strict maternal effect mutation that causes the production of haploid gynogenetic embryos (eggs are fertilized but only maternal chromosomes participate in development). We conducted a cytological analysis of fertilization and early development in mh eggs to elucidate the mechanism of paternal chromosome elimination. In mh eggs, as in wild-type eggs, male and female pronuclei migrate and appose, the first mitotic spindle forms, and both parental sets of chromosomes congress on the metaphase plate. In contrast to control eggs, mh paternal sister chromatids fail to separate in anaphase of the first division. As a consequence the paternal chromatin stretches and forms a bridge in telophase. During the first three embryonic divisions, damaged paternal chromosomes are progressively eliminated from the spindles that organize around maternal chromosomes. A majority of mh embryos do not survive the deleterious presence of aneuploid nuclei and rapidly arrest their development. The rest of mh embryos develop as haploid gynogenetic embryos and die before hatching. The mh phenotype is highly reminiscent of the early developmental defects observed in eggs fertilized by ms(3)K81 mutant males and in eggs produced in incompatible crosses of Drosophila harboring the endosymbiont bacteria Wolbachia.     

Abortive second meiosis detected in cytochalasin-treated eggs in androgenetic diploid Corbicula fluminea

The hermaphroditic diploid clam Corbicula fluminea reproduces by androgenesis. In the control (androgenetic development), all maternal chromosomes and maternal centrosomes at the meiotic poles were extruded as two first polar bodies and subsequently second meiosis did not occur. In eggs treated with cytochalasin D (CD) to inhibit the polar body extrusion, the second meiosis was abortive. After the first meiosis, two centrosomes at the spindle poles remained in the cytoplasm because of the effect of CD. The chromosomes divided into two groups at anaphase-I as observed in the control eggs. Two centrosomes divided into four just after the first meiosis but did not separate completely. The microtubules from the centrosomes were rather short. So at the second meiosis, two monoasters or tetrapolar spindles were formed. The fluorescence signal from microtubules of the monoaster or tetrapolar spindle was weak compared with the spindle at the first meiosis. The maternal chromosomes on the monoaster or tetrapolar spindle did not move, and became large female pronuclei. The pronuclei became the metaphase chromosomes on the spindle for the first cleavage. The present study suggests that second meiosis regulating factors may be abortive in androgenetic diploid C. fluminea.     

Chromatin-induced spindle assembly plays an important role in metaphase congression of silkworm holocentric chromosomes

The kinetochore plays important roles in cell cycle progression. Interactions between chromosomes and spindle microtubules allow chromosomes to congress to the middle of the cell and to segregate the sister chromatids into daughter cells in mitosis. The chromosome passenger complex (CPC), composed of the Aurora B kinase and its regulatory subunits INCENP, Survivin, and Borealin, plays multiple roles in these chromosomal events. In the genome of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, which has holocentric chromosomes, the CPC components and their molecular interactions were highly conserved. In contrast to monocentric species, however, the silkworm CPC co-localized with the chromatin-driven spindles on the upper side of prometaphase chromosomes without forming bipolar mitotic spindles. Depletion of the CPC by RNAi arrested the cell cycle progression at prometaphase and disrupted the microtubule network of the chromatin-driven spindles. Interestingly, depletion of mitotic centromere-associated kinesin (MCAK) recovered formation of the microtubule network but did not overcome the cell cycle arrest at prometaphase. These results suggest that the CPC modulates the chromatin-induced spindle assembly and metaphase congression of silkworm holocentric chromosomes.     

Role of spindle microtubules in the control of cell cycle timing

Sea urchin eggs are used to investigate the involvement of spindle microtubules in the mechanisms that control the timing of cell cycle events. Eggs are treated for 4 min with Colcemid at prophase of the first mitosis. No microtubules are assembled for at least 3 h, and the eggs do not divide. These eggs show repeated cycles of nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB) and nuclear envelope reformation (NER). Mitosis (NEB to NER) is twice as long in Colcemid-treated eggs as in the untreated controls. Interphase (NER to NEB) is the same in both. Thus, each cycle is prolonged entirely in mitosis. The chromosomes of treated eggs condense and eventually split into separate chromatids which do not move apart. This "canaphase" splitting is substantially delayed relative to anaphase onset in the control eggs. Treated eggs are irradiated after NEB with 366-nm light to inactivate the Colcemid. This allows the eggs to assemble normal spindles and divide. Up to 14 min after NEB, delays in the start of microtubule assembly give equal delays in anaphase onset, cleavage, and the events of the following cell cycle. Regardless of the delay, anaphase follows irradiation by the normal prometaphase duration. The quantity of spindle microtubules also influences the timing of mitotic events. Short Colcemid treatments administered in prophase of second division cause eggs to assemble small spindles. One blastomere is irradiated after NEB to provide a control cell with a normal-sized spindle. Cells with diminished spindles always initiate anaphase later than their controls. Telophase events are correspondingly delayed. This work demonstrates that spindle microtubules are involved in the mechanisms that control the time when the cell will initiate anaphase, finish mitosis, and start the next cell cycle.     

Ultrastructure of the micronucleus of the infusorian Didinium nasutum during meiosis]

Six stages can be distinguished in the micronuclear first maturation division prophase of D. nasutum. Nucleolus-like structures of fibrillar nature, connected with micronuclear chromosomes seem to develop at the late leptotene. At zygotene-pachytene, the chromosomes condense, forming irregular loops. This coincides with formation of classically structured synaptinemal complexes in the micronuclei. At diplotene-diakinesis, chromosomal bivalents are uniformly scattered throughout the micronucleus. They aggregate into a net equatorial plate in the first division metaphase; chromosomes show prominent kinetochores with attached chromosomal microtubule bundles. The second maturation division starts immediately after the completion of the first division and is morphologically similar to agamic mitosis of the micronuclei of D. nasutum. During the 2th maturation division prophase, the compact chromosomes form a dense group and show no spreading inside the nucleus. They are interspaced by an amorphous material being possibly involved in the formation of spindle microtubules. The telophase spindle of the 2nd division likely as that of the Ist division divides into three parts, the two daughter nuclei and the separation spindle containing a material of depolymerized microtubules. Only one of the 2nd division derivatives enters the third maturation division. A short telophasic third division spindle is perpendicular to the surface of the contact between the conjugants and produces two pronuclei. The envelopes of the daughter micronuclei are formed from parts of the original nuclear envelope surrounding the entire spindle.     

Mitosis of the free-living flagellate Bodo saltans strain Ps+ (Kinetoplastidea, Bodonida)

Mitosis of the free-living flagellate Bodo saltans of the Ps+ strain characterized by the presence of prokaryotic cytobionts in the perinuclear space was studied. Division of B. saltans Ps+ nuclei occurs by the closed intranuclear type of mitosis without condensation of chromosomes. At the initial stages of nuclear division, consecutive anlage of two spatially separated microtubular spindles begins. The spindle containing about 20 microtubules appears first, then, at an angle of 30–40° to it, the second spindle containing half as many microtubules is formed. The microtubules of the first spindle are associated with 4 pairs of kinetochores, the microtubules of the second one—with 2 pairs. The kinetochores of B. saltans Ps+ have a pronounced laminar structure. Both spindles rest with their ends directly on the internal membrane of the nuclear envelope and form 4 well-pronounced poles. The equatorial phase of mitosis in B. saltans Ps+ is not revealed. The divergence of sister kinetochores towards the poles occurs independently in each spindle. At the elongation phase of mitosis, the poles of both spindles are united in pairs to form a single bipolar structure composed of two loose bundles of microtubules. At this stage of nuclear division, the kinetochores reach the poles of the subspindles and cease to be visible. At subsequent nuclear division stages the nucleus acquires a dumbbell shape. During the reorganization phase the sister nuclei are separated. In the perinuclear space of the interphase nuclei of B. saltans Ps+, 1–2 prokaryotic cytobionts are present. In the course of mitosis, these organisms divide intensively, such that their number can reach 20 and more per nucleus. During separation of sister nuclei, the “excessive” cytobionts are released into the cytoplasmic vacuoles formed by external membranes of the nuclear envelope.     

MICROINJECTION OF TOAD SPERM INTO OOCYTES UNDERGOING MATURATION DIVISION*

Spermatozoa of Bufo bufo japonicus were briefly treated with Triton X-100 to remove their plasma membrane, and were injected into oocytes at various stages of maturation division. All the sperm injected into mature coelomic eggs transformed into pronuclei and synthesized DNA, as a normally fertilizing sperm does. The sperm injected into oocytes at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage did not show any change as long as the GV remained intact. In the oocytes which were induced to mature by progesterone, the injected sperm displayed characteristic features in synchrony with those of the resident female nucleus. These included the formation of several sperm-derived chromosomes in association with multipolar spindles in the oocytes from the stage of the germinal vesicle breakdown to the first polar spindle; the appearance of swollen, vesicular nuclei without concomitant DNA synthesis in those at the stage of the first polar body emission; and the reappearance of the condensed chromosomes with giant spindles in those at the stage of the second meiotic metaphase. Pricking of these last oocytes induced the formation of several male pronuclei and DNA synthesis. These results prove that the injection of detergent-treated sperm employed here provides an excellent means of studying the cytoplasmic state that regulates nuclear behavior.     

The spindle pole bodies facilitate nuclear envelope division during closed mitosis in fission yeast

Many organisms divide chromosomes within the confines of the nuclear envelope (NE) in a process known as closed mitosis. Thus, they must ensure coordination between segregation of the genetic material and division of the NE itself. Although many years of work have led to a reasonably clear understanding of mitotic spindle function in chromosome segregation, the NE division mechanism remains obscure. Here, we show that fission yeast cells overexpressing the transforming acid coiled coil (TACC)-related protein, Mia1p/Alp7p, failed to separate the spindle pole bodies (SPBs) at the onset of mitosis, but could assemble acentrosomal bipolar and antiparallel spindle structures. Most of these cells arrested in anaphase with fully extended spindles and nonsegregated chromosomes. Spindle poles that lacked the SPBs did not lead the division of the NE during spindle elongation, but deformed it, trapping the chromosomes within. When the SPBs were severed by laser microsurgery in wild-type cells, we observed analogous deformations of the NE by elongating spindle remnants, resulting in NE division failure. Analysis of dis1Δ cells that elongate spindles despite unattached kinetochores indicated that the SPBs were required for maintaining nuclear shape at anaphase onset. Strikingly, when the NE was disassembled by utilizing a temperature-sensitive allele of the Ran GEF, Pim1p, the abnormal spindles induced by Mia1p overexpression were capable of segregating sister chromatids to daughter cells, suggesting that the failure to divide the NE prevents chromosome partitioning. Our results imply that the SPBs preclude deformation of the NE during spindle elongation and thus serve as specialized structures enabling nuclear division during closed mitosis in fission yeast.     

银鲫精子在两性融合生殖鱼类卵质中的受精特征

红鲤(♀)×银鲫(♂)的杂种胚胎均不能成活。受精细胞学研究结果表明,雌核发育银鲫的精核在两性融合生殖的鲤鱼卵质中能转化为雄性原核,并和雌性原核融合成合子核。但在卵裂开始后,可观察到某些异常现象,如染色体丢失,多极纺锤体形成,以及第二次卵裂时受精卵的两分裂球的非同步性分裂等。我们初步认为,雌核发育银鲫的染色体和两性融合生殖的鱼类染色体之间存在某种不相容性,表现为彼此间的互相排斥。出现这种现象可能和银鲫染色体组的雌核发育遗传背景有关。     

Characterization of Polo-like kinase-1 in rat oocytes and early embryos implies its functional roles in the regulation of meiotic maturation,fertilization, and cleavage

Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) is a family of serine/threonine protein kinases that play important regulatory roles during mitotic cell cycle progression. In this study, Plk1 expression, subcellular localization, and possible functions during rat oocyte meiotic maturation, fertilization, and embryonic cleavages were studied by using RT-PCR, Western blot, confocal microscopy, drug-treatments, and antibody microinjection. Both the mRNA and protein of this kinase were detected in rat maturing oocytes and developing embryos. Confocal microscopy revealed that Plk1 distributed abundantly in the nucleus at the germinal vesicle (GV) stage, was associated with spindle poles during the formation of M-phase spindle, and was translocated to the spindle mid-zone at anaphase. In fertilized eggs, Plk1 was strongly stained in the cytoplasm between the apposing male and female pronuclei, from where microtubules radiated. Throughout cytokinesis, Plk1 was localized to the division plane, both during oocyte meiosis and embryonic mitosis. The specific subcellular distribution of Plk1 was distorted after disrupting the M-phase spindle, while additional aggregation dots could be induced in the cytoplasm by taxol, suggesting its intimate association with active microtubule assembly. Plk1 antibody microinjection delayed the meiotic resumption and blocked the emission of polar bodies. In conclusion, Plk1 may be a multifunctional kinase that plays pivotal regulatory roles in microtubule assembly during rat oocyte meiotic maturation, fertilization, and early embryonic mitosis.     

Effects of low temperatures on in vitro produced bovine zygotes

The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of cooling on the development of bovine zygotes. One-cell bovine embryos were maintained at 39°C (control), 20°C, 10°C, or 0°C for 5, 10, or 20 minutes, then cultured in vitro for 7 days and the proportion of embryos developing to the compact morula or blastocyst stage compared between different treatments. Duration of exposure time had no effect on development. Development rates to the compact morula or blastocyst stage were 3.9%, 11.4%, 17.4%, and 24.4% for zygotes maintained at 0°C, 10°C, 20°C, and 39°C, respectively, with differences in embryo yield between every treatment (P < 0.05). In a second experiment, bovine pronuclei (karyoplasts) and cytoplasts were cooled at 0°C or maintained at 39°C for 5 minutes. Pronuclear transplantation was then utilized to create 4 types of reconstructed embryos, those with: 1) non-cooled pronuclei and non-cooled cytoplasm, 2) non-cooled pronuclei and cooled cytoplasm, 3) cooled pronuclei and non-cooled cytoplasm, and 4) cooled pronuclei and cooled cytoplasm. The proportion of embryos developing to the blastocyst stage was highest when non-cooled pronuclei were transferred into non-cooled cytoplasm (18.9%), and similar to that of non-cooled, non-manipulated control zygotes (13.2%, P > 0.05). No embryos developed to the blastocyst stage when pronuclei (cooled or non-cooled) were transferred into cooled cytoplasm. However, zygotes with cooled pronuclei transferred into non-cooled cytoplasm yielded 4.5% blastocysts (P < 0.05). More embryos developed to the compact morula or blastocyst stage when non-cooled vs. cooled cytoplasm was utilized, regardless of whether the pronuclei were cooled (P < 0.05). These data demonstrate that pronuclei are more tolerant to low temperature exposure than is ovum cytoplasm. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 47:435–439, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Unequal first cleavage in the Tubifex egg: involvement of a monastral mitotic apparatus

The first cleavage in the freshwater oligochaete Tubifex hattai is unequal and meridional, and produces a smaller cell AB and a larger cell CD. This study traces the process of furrow formation, reorganization of cortical F-actin and the assembly of a mitotic apparatus during this unequal division. Cleavage furrow formation consists of two stages: (i) when eggs are viewed from the animal pole, meridionally running furrows emerge at two points of the egg's equator that are 90° apart from each other and approach the egg axis as they deepen; and (ii) at the midpoint between the equator and the egg center, the bottoms of these furrows link to each other on the animal and vegetal surfaces of the egg and form a continuous ring of constriction in a plane parallel to the egg axis. Egg cortices, isolated during the first step and stained with rhodamine-phalloidin, show that the bottoms of recently formed furrows are underlaid by a belt of tightly packed actin bundles (i.e. a contractile arc). The transition to the second stage of furrow formation coincides with the conversion of these actin belts into a continuous ring of F-actin. Whole-mount immunocytochemistry of microtubules reveals that the first cleavage in Tubifex involves an asymmetric mitotic spindle, which initially possesses an aster at one pole but not the other. This ‘monastral’ spindle is located at the egg's center and orients itself perpendicular to the egg axis. During anaphase, astral rays elongate to reach the cell surface, so that the array of astral microtubules in the plane of the egg's equator covers a sector of 270–300°. In contrast, it is not until the transition to telophase that microtubules emanating from the anastral spindle pole approach the cell margin. If eggs are compressed along the egg axis or forced to elongate, they form monastral spindles and divide unequally. In living compressed eggs, mitotic spindles, which are recognizable as bright streaks at the egg's center, appear not to shift their position along the spindle axis during division, suggesting that without eccentric migration of spindles Tubifex eggs are able to divide unequally. These results suggest that mechanisms that translocate the mitotic spindle eccentrically do not operate in Tubifex eggs during the first cell cycle. The mechanisms that generate asymmetry in spindle organization are discussed in the light of the present results.     

Characterization of aurora-a in porcine oocytes and early embryos implies its functional roles in the regulation of meiotic maturation, fertilization and cleavage

Aurora-A is a serine/threonine protein kinase that plays important regulatory roles during mitotic cell cycle progression. In this study, Aurora-A expression, subcellular localization, and possible functions during porcine oocyte meiotic maturation, fertilization and early embryonic cleavage were studied by using Western blot, confocal microscopy and drug treatments. The quantity of Aurora-A protein remained stable during porcine oocyte meiotic maturation. Confocal microscopy revealed that Aurora-A distributed abundantly in the nucleus at the germinal vesicle stage. After germinal vesicle breakdown, Aurora-A concentrated around the condensed chromosomes and the metaphase I spindle, and finally, Aurora-A was associated with spindle poles during the formation of the metaphase II spindle. Aurora-A concentrated in the pronuclei in fertilized eggs. Aurora-A was not found in the spindle region when colchicine or staurosporine was used to inhibit microtubule organization, while it accumulated as several dots in the cytoplasm after taxol treatment. In conclusion, Aurora-A may be a multifunctional kinase that plays pivotal regulatory roles in microtubule assembly during porcine oocyte meiotic maturation, fertilization and early embryonic mitosis.     

Immunocytochemical evidence for centrosomal phosphoproteins in mitotic sea urchin eggs

The change in distribution of centrosomal phosphoproteins was examined in sea urchin eggs from fertilization to the first cleavage by immunofluorescence staining with the anti-phosphoprotein antibodies, MPM-1 and MPM-2. The antibodies reacted with female pronuclei in unfertilized eggs as well as centriolar complexes located at the base of sperm flagella. After insemination, male and female pronuclei fused together to form a zygotic nucleus which was visualized by staining of fertilized eggs with the antiphosphoprotein antibodies. No major change in staining pattern was detected in extracted whole eggs until mitosis. As the fertilized eggs approached mitosis, however, the antigens started to redistribute from nuclei to the perinuclear position where the mitotic centrosomes were located. Detailed immunofluorescence observation of isolated spindles revealed that the phosphoantigens were retained in isolated structures. A major 225 kd polypeptide was recognized by the antibodies, suggesting that the 225 kd protein is a phosphocomponent of centrosomes. The area recognized by the antibody in mitotic poles enlarged with the progress of mitosis, suggesting that the antigens were apparently localized in the centrosphere. Centrospheres prepared from isolated spindles by salt extraction strongly reacted with the antibodies. One or two bright dots, which may represent centrioles, were visible in the isolated centrosphere. At the end of mitosis, the antigens again appeared in the newly formed daughter nuclei. Centriole-containing cytasters and centriole-free monasters were parthenogenetically induced in unfertilized eggs (Kuriyama and Borisy, (1983) J. Cell Sci. 61: 175-189). The antibodies stained centers of both the asters whether they contained centrioles or not, indicating that the antibodies recognizes the components of the pericentriolar material.     

Cytochemical studies on the protamine-type protein transition in sperm nuclei after fertilization and the early embryonic histones of Urechis caupo.

Cytochemical staining characteristics of nuclear histones during postfertilization maturation division and various early embryonic stages in Urechis have been studied. The transition of protamine-type protein to adult histones in the sperm nucleus is accomplished by 15 min after entrance into the egg cytoplasm. Newly synthesized egg proteins migrate into enlarging male and female pronuclei after this transition, followed by pronuclear DNA synthesis and fusion. The shift from protamine-type protein to adult histones, which occurs in the absence of RNA synthesis during the postfertilization maturation division of the egg, may be one of the processes involved in the normal structural reorganization of chromosomes. Such a reorganization is likely to be a prerequisite for chromosome replication and mitosis. No qualitative differences are detected in the stainability of histones of unfertilized eggs and embryos at the cleavage and later stages of development.     

Tetraploid Induction by Inhibiting Mitosis I with Heat Shock, Cold Shock, and Nocodazole in the Hard Clam Mercenaria mercenaria (Linnaeus, 1758)

Tetraploid induction by inhibiting mitosis I with heat shock (32, 35, and 38°C), cold shock (1, 4, and 7°C), and nocodazole (0.02 to 1.6 mg/L) was investigated in the hard clam Mercenaria mercenaria. All treatments were applied to fertilized eggs about 5 min before the first cell division at 22 to 23°C, and lasted for 10, 15, and 20 min. Three replicates were produced for each treatment with different parents. The ploidy of resultant larvae and juveniles was determined with flow cytometry. Heat shock of 35 and 38°C was effective in inhibiting mitosis I, producing 54% to 89% tetraploid larvae. Heat shock of 32°C accelerated embryonic development without inhibiting mitosis or producing tetraploids. In all heat-shock groups, the survival to D-stage larvae was lower than in controls, suggesting that heat-shock treatments and tetraploidy were detrimental to larval development. At the juvenile stage, survivors from heat-shock groups contained no tetraploids. Cold shocks suspended the first cell division during the treatment, but produced no tetraploids in the 4°C and 7°C treatment groups. Cold shock of 1°C produced 31% tetraploid larvae in one replicate, with none surviving to juvenile stage. Nocodazole inhibited mitosis I at concentrations of 0.04 mg/L or higher, but did not produce tetraploids. This study indicates that heat shock is most effective in inducing tetraploids through mitosis I inhibition, although none of the induced tetraploids survived to juvenile stage.     

Centriole number and the reproductive capacity of spindle poles

The reproduction of spindle poles is a key event in the cell's preparation for mitosis. To gain further insight into how this process is controlled, we systematically characterized the ultrastructure of spindle poles whose reproductive capacity had been experimentally altered. In particular, we wanted to determine if the ability of a pole to reproduce before the next division is related to the number of centrioles it contains. We used mercaptoethanol to indirectly induce the formation of monopolar spindles in sea urchin eggs. We followed individually treated eggs in vivo with a polarizing microscope during the induction and development of monopolar spindles. We then fixed each egg at one of three predetermined key stages and serially semithick sectioned it for observation in a high-voltage electron microscope. We thus know the history of each egg before fixation and, from earlier studies, what that cell would have done had it not been fixed. We found that spindle poles that would have given rise to monopolar spindles at the next mitosis have only one centriole whereas spindle poles that would have formed bipolar spindles at the next division have two centrioles. By serially sectioning each egg, we were able to count all centrioles present. In the twelve cells examined, we found no cases of acentriolar spindle poles or centriole reduplication. Thus, the reproductive capacity of a spindle pole is linked to the number of centrioles it contains. Our experimental results also show, contrary to existing reports, that the daughter centriole of a centrosome can acquire pericentriolar material without first becoming a parent. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that the splitting apart of mother and daughter centrioles is an event that is distinct from, and not dependent on, centriole duplication.