Dynamics of microtubular cytoskeleton in higher plant meiosis. X. General scheme of cytoskeletal cycle

An overview of a set of our previous papers titled "Dynamics of microtubular cytoskeleton in higher plant meiosis" is presented, in addition to some data on subcellular mechanisms underlying cytoskeleton reorganization during meiotic division in pollen mother cells. An illustrated scheme of cytoskeleton rearrangements during plant meiosis, both with successive and simultaneous cytokinesis, is given.     

Dynamics of microtubular cytoskeleton in higher plant meiosis. VI. Mechanisms of the successive cytokinesis

Intracellular morphological processes of successive cytokinesis in cereal pollen mother cells during normal and abnormal meiosis were studied. It was shown that the central spindle fiber system transforms into a phragmoplast at telophase. A model of centrifugal movement of the phragmoplast as a modification of B-anaphase has been proposed.     

Microtubule organization during successive microsporogenesis in Allium cepa and simultaneous cytokinesis in Nicotiana tabacum

Microtubule cytoskeleton organization during microspore mother cell (MMC) meiosis in Allium cepa L. and microsporogenesis in Nicotiana tabacum L. was examined. The MMC microtubules (MTs) were short and well dispersed in the cytoplasm of both taxa. As the MMCs of both species entered metaphase of meiosis I, the MTs constructed a spindle that facilitated the chromosomes to orient in the meridian plane. At anaphase of meiosis I, the spindle MTs differentiated into two types: one MT type became short, pulled the chromosomes toward the two poles, and was designated as centromere MTs; the second type of MT connected the two poles, and was designated as pole MTs. In A. cepa, where successive cytokinesis was observed, pole MTs assumed a tubbish shape. Some new short MTs aggregated in the meridian plane and constricted to form a phragmoplast, which developed into a cell plate, divided the cytoplasm into two parts and produced a dyad. However, in tobacco, a phragmoplast was not generated in anaphase of meiosis I and II and cytokinesis did not occur. The spindle MTs depolymerized and reorganized the radial arrangement of MTs from the nucleate surface to the periplasm during anaphase. Following telophase of meiosis II, the cytoplasm produced centripetal furrows, which met in the center of the cell and divided it into four parts, serving as a form of cytokinesis. In this process, MTs appeared to bear no relationship to cytokinesis.     

Formation and function of phragmoplast during successive cytokinesis stages in higher plant meiosis

Cytoskeletal rearrangements were studied during meiotic telophase in a number of monocotyledonous plant species. Wild type and abnormal meiosis (in wide cereal hybrids, meiotic mutants and allolines) was analyzed. It was found that central spindle fibers that move centrifugally, along with newly-formed MTs, are the basis of phragmoplast formation and function in PMCs of monocotyledonous plant species with successive cytokinesis stages. A model for centrifugal movement of the meiotic phragmoplast is proposed; this model is a modification of the corresponding process during B-anaphase.     

Diagnosticum of abnormalities of plant meiotic division

Abnormalities of plant meiotic division leading to abnormal meiotic products are summarized schematically in the paper. Causes of formation of monads, abnormal diads, triads, pentads, polyads, etc. have been observed in meiosis with both successive and simultaneous cytokinesis.     

盾叶薯蓣雄花发育、小孢子发生及雄配子体发育的研究

大部分盾叶薯蓣为雌雄异株植物。在湖南省长沙市气候条件下,雄花花期为4月初至9月中。雄花花器小,每日17:30~19:30开放。小孢子母细胞减数分裂过程中,细胞质分裂为连续型,四分体为十字形。花药壁发育过程中,中层两层细胞紧贴,解体较早;绒毡层为腺质绒毡层,兼有部分变形绒毡层特征。     

Cytomixis and meiotic abnormalities during microsporogenesis are responsible for male sterility and chromosome variations in Houttuynia cordata

Houttuynia cordata (Saururaceae) is a leaf vegetable and a medicinal herb througout much of Asia. Cytomixis and meiotic abnormalities during microsporogenesis were found in two populations of H. cordata with different ploidy levels (2n = 38, 96). Cytomixis occurred in pollen mother cells during meiosis at high frequencies and with variable degrees of chromatin/chromosome transfer. Meiotic abnormalities, such as chromosome laggards, asymmetric segregation and polyads, also prevailed in pollen mother cells at metaphase of the first division and later stages. They were caused by cytomixis and resulted in very low pollen viability and male sterility. Pollen mother cells from the population with 2n = 38 showed only simultaneous cytokinesis, but most pollen mother cells from the population with 2n = 96 showed successive cytokinesis; a minority underwent simultaneous cytokinesis. Cytomixis and irregular meiotic divisions appear to be the origin of the intraspecific polyploidy in this species, which has large variations in chromosome numbers.     

越南篦齿苏铁小孢子发生及其系统学意义

运用常规石蜡切片方法,结合显微荧光技术对越南篦齿苏铁Cycas elongata 小孢子发生和花粉个体发育进行了研究。结果表明：其小孢子叶球5月中下旬开始萌动,小孢子囊着生在小孢子叶远轴面,且3-5小孢子囊以辐射状排列方式聚生成聚合囊。小孢子囊壁由6-7层细胞组成,包括表皮、中层及绒毡层。绒毡层来源于成熟造孢组织的外围细胞,其退化形式为分泌型。6月中旬,小孢子母细胞进入减数分裂I,至6月下旬形成四分体。母细胞减数分裂后胞质分裂的方式与其他苏铁类植物不同,具有连续型与同时型两种类型。7月中旬,小孢子经过2次有丝分裂后,形成3细胞的成熟花粉粒。7月下旬进入散粉状态。在花粉发育过程中,母细胞内淀粉粒的积累及其壁上胼胝质的沉积均呈现规律性变化。     

Dynamics of microtubular cytoskeleton in higher plant meiosis. VII. Mechanisms of the simultaneous cytokinesis

Rearrangements of microtubular cytoskeleton during telophase in pollen mother cells of some dicotyledon plants with the simultaneous cytokinesis during normal and abnormal meiosis were studied. At telophase I, a potentially functional phragmoplast forms between daughter nuclei, but no cell plate is present. During interkinesis, the phragmoplast plays the role of an interphase cytoskeleton array. Dynamics of microtubule reorganization in polar regions of the telophase spindle is discussed in addition to the role played by microtubule convergence centers in cytoskeleton rearrangements during meiosis.     

RhoA-mediated MLC2 regulates actin dynamics for cytokinesis in meiosis

During oocyte meiosis, the bipolar spindle forms in the central cytoplasm and then migrates to the cortex. Subsequently, the oocyte extrudes the polar body through two successive asymmetric divisions, which are regulated primarily by actin filaments. Myosin light chain2 (MLC2) phosphorylation plays pivotal roles in smooth muscle contraction, stress fiber formation, cell motility and cytokinesis. However, whether MLC2 phosphorylation participates in the oocyte polarization and asymmetric division has not been clarified. The present study investigated the expression and functions of MLC2 during mouse oocyte meiosis. Our result showed that p-MLC2 was localized in the oocyte cortex, with a thickened cap above the chromosomes. Meanwhile, p-MLC2 was also localized in the poles of spindle. Disruption of MLC2 activity by MLC2 knock down (K_D) caused the failure of polar body extrusion. Immunofluorescent staining showed that a large proportion of oocytes arrested in telophase stage and failed to undergo cytokinesis after culturing for 12 hours. In the meantime, actin filament staining at oocyte membrane and cytoplasm were reduced in MLC2 K_D oocytes. Finally, we found that the phosphorylation of MLC2 protein levels was decreased after disruption of RhoA activity. Above all, our data indicated that the RhoA-mediated MLC2 regulates the actin organization for cytokinesis during mouse oocyte maturation.     

Feed-back regulation of successive meiotic cytokinesis

The paper considers a number of abnormal phenotypes with impaired temporal regulation of cytokinesis during the meiotic division of pollen mother cells. The phenomenon of “non-stop” cytokinesis with blocked arrest of the phragmoplast centrifugal motion and cell plate growth as well as incomplete and premature cytokinesis are described. The obtained data suggested a model for regulation of the processes involved in the arrest of the main cytokinesis processes during its completion in the plant meiosis.     

大百合小孢子发生和雄配子体发育研究

用常规石蜡切片技术和压片法对大百合小孢子发生和雄配子体发育进行观察。结果表明：花药4室,花药壁由表皮、药室内壁、中层和腺质绒毡层组成,花药壁发育方式为单子叶型,药室内壁部分细胞发育后期发生纤维状加厚。小孢子母细胞减数分裂过程的胞质分裂为连续型,四分体多数为左右对称型,偶有四面体型。成熟花粉为2细胞型,具1个萌发沟。经TTC法检验,成熟花粉生活力为86.3%。从小孢子的发生及雄配子体发育的整个过程看,未见异常现象,能形成大量正常的成熟花粉。     

Microsporogenesis and systematics of Aristolochiaceae

Within Aristolochiaceae, a secretory tapetum and orbicules are ubiquitous, but both simultaneous and successive types of microsporogenesis occur. Simultaneous cytokinesis is apparently plesiomorphic within the order Piperales, in which Aristolochiaceae are now placed. Successive microsporogenesis was found only in species of Aristolochia confined to a crown clade in the proposed phylogeny of this genus. In contrast to many other taxa, within Aristolochiaceae there is no strict relationship between microsporogenesis type and tetrad configuration, which is strongly influenced by spindle orientation, especially during meiosis II. There is also no direct correlation between microsporogenesis type and the aperture of mature pollen grains.     

Cytokinesis in the C. elegans embryo: regulating contractile forces and a late role for the central spindle

Genetic and molecular studies in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans have identified multiple essential pathways that regulate and execute cytokinesis in early embryonic cells. These pathways influence both the microfilament cytoskeleton and the microtubule cytoskeleton. Microfilaments are enriched throughout the cell cortex at all times during the cell cycle in embryonic cells. Cortical microfilaments are required for multiple processes in embryonic cells, including polar body extrusion during meiosis, anterior-posterior axis specification by the sperm-donated microtubule-organizing center, and cytokinesis during mitosis. In addition to contractile apparatus proteins that are required positively for cleavage furrow ingression, the Nedd8 ubiquitin-like protein modification pathway negatively regulates contractile forces outside the cleavage furrow during cytokinesis. Another pathway that acts positively during cytokinesis involves the mitotic spindle. The central spindle, where anti-parallel non-kinetochore microtubules overlap and are cross-linked, is required for a late step in cytokinesis, and other pathway(s) involved in membrane addition during cytokinesis may also require the central spindle. The amenability of C. elegans to classical genetics, the ease of reducing gene function with RNA interference, the completion of the genome sequence, and the availability of transgenic GFP fusion proteins that render the cytoskeleton fluorescent, all serve to make the early worm embryo an especially promising system for further advances in the identification of cytokinesis pathways, and in defining their interactions.     

羽衣甘蓝花粉母细胞减数分裂及雄配子体发育观察

采用常规压片法对羽衣甘蓝花粉母细胞减数分裂及雄配子体发育进行了细胞学观察,结果显示:羽衣甘蓝减数分裂类似甘蓝种,细胞质分裂为同时型,四分体以正四面体型或十字交叉型为主;终变期有9个二价体,此时可进行染色体计数;中期Ⅰ和Ⅱ少数细胞中可见赤道板外染色体,后期Ⅰ和Ⅱ存在落后染色体,四分体时期可观察到少量含微核的异常四分体;单核靠边期时花蕾长度约为2.0~2.2 mm,小孢子经过发育最终成为3-细胞型花粉并具3个萌发孔,成熟花粉中败育花粉比率为1.3%.     

Phylogenetic comparative analysis of microsporogenesis in angiosperms with a focus on monocots

This paper presents the first broad overview of three main features of microsporogenesis (male meiosis) in angiosperms: cytokinesis (cell division), intersporal wall formation, and tetrad form. A phylogenetic comparative approach was used to test for correlated evolution among these characters and to make hypotheses about evolutionary trends in microsporogenesis. The link between features of microsporogenesis and pollen aperture type was examined. We show that the pathway associated with successive cytokinesis (cytoplasm is partitioned after each meiotic division) is restricted to wall formation mediated by centrifugally developing cell plates, and tetragonal (or decussate, T-shaped, linear) tetrads. Conversely, much more flexibility is observed when cytokinesis is simultaneous (two meiotic divisions completed before cytoplasmic partitioning). We suggest that the ancestral type of microsporogenesis for angiosperms, and perhaps for all seed plants, associated simultaneous cytokinesis with centripetal wall formation, resulting in a large diversity in tetrad forms, ranging from regular tetrahedral to tetragonal tetrads, including rhomboidal tetrads. From this ancestral pathway, switches toward successive cytokinesis occurred among basal angiosperms and monocots, generally associated with a switch toward centrifugal intersporal wall formation, whereas eudicots evolved toward an almost exclusive production of regular tetrahedral tetrads. No straightforward link is found between the type of microsporogenesis and pollen aperture type.     

东乡野生稻与栽培稻正反交种间杂种F_1的雄配子发生与发育

该文以东乡野生稻与栽培稻（美国光壳稻P1003）的正反交种间杂种F1（正交为光壳稻P1003×东乡野生稻;反交为东乡野生稻×光壳稻P1003）为试材,研究其各个减数分裂时期的染色体行为特征、染色体交换重组及雄配子发育特点。结果表明：正反交杂种F1花粉母细胞细胞核减数分裂的同步性较高,细胞质为连续型胞质分裂类型。在细胞核分裂的过程中,核仁在前期I到中期I逐渐消失。染色体在前期I到中期I逐渐收缩,变得更加清晰可见。在终变期和中期I,90.54%以上的花粉母细胞能形成12个二价体（含少数棒状二价体和8字型二价体）,部分花粉母细胞（正交9.46%,反交7.65%）出现少量的单价体、三价体和四价体。后期I观察到1.27%–1.35%的花粉母细胞含有1至数条落后染色体。最终有92.6%–94.8%的小孢子能发育成形态正常、染色能力强的成熟花粉粒。另外,在正交杂种F1的粗线期中存在2个核仁,而反交杂种F1及其双亲的粗线期只有1个核仁。这些研究结果可为作物品种改良、种质资源创新以及种间亲缘关系研究提供细胞学证据。     

Transformations of the Pleiomorphic Plant MTOC during Sporogenesis in the Hepatic Marchantia polymorpha

Sporogenesis in the hepatic Marchantia polymorpha L. provides an outstanding example of the pleiomorphic nature of the plant microtubule organizing center （MTOC）. Microtubules are nucleated from γ-tubuUn in MTOCs that change form during mitosis and meiosis. Following entry of cells into the reproductive pathway of sporogenesis, successive rounds of mitosis give rise to packets of 4-16 sporocytes. Mitotic spindles are organized at discrete polar organizers （POs）, a type of MTOC that is unique to this group of early divergent land plants. An abrupt and radical transformation in microtubule organization occurs when sporocytes enter meiosis： POs are lost and γ-tubulin is closely associated with surfaces of two large elongated plastids that subsequently divide into four. Migration of the four plastid MTOCs into a tetrahedral arrangement establishes the future spore domains and the division polarity of meiosis. As is typical of many bryophytes, cones of microtubules from the four plastid MTOCs initiate a quadripolar microtubule system （QMS） in meiotic prophase. At this point a transformation in the organization of the MTOCs occurs. The γ-tubulin detaches from plastids and forms a diffuse spheroidal pole in each of the spore domains. The plastids, which are no longer MTOCs, continue to divide. The diffuse MTOCs continue to nucleate cones of microtubules during transformation of the QMS to a bipolar spindle. Following meiosis I, γ-tubulin is associated with nuclear envelopes, and the spindles of meiosis II are organized from diffuse MTOCs at the tetrad poles. At simultaneous cytokinesis, radial microtubule systems are organized at nuclear envelope MTOCs in each of the tetrad members.     

Premeiotic endomitosis produces diploid eggs in the natural clone loach, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus (Teleostei: Cobitidae)

The natural clone loach produces unreduced eggs genetically identical to somatic cells of the mother fish and such diploid eggs normally develop as a clone without genetic contribution of sperm. Following the identification of clonal nature and diploidy of eggs, we conducted cytological studies to determine the mechanisms responsible for this unusual oogenesis. Cytolological observation of full-grown oocytes cultured in vitro revealed that oocytes of both the clone and the control loach underwent two successive meiotic divisions: formation of a bipolar spindle and metaphase in meiosis I and equal segregation of chromosomes, extrusion of the first polar body and the appearance of metaphase of meiosis II. However, spindle size of the clone was larger than that of the control. Bivalent chromosome number of germinal vesicle of oocytes was 25 in the control diploid, whereas 50 in the clone. The results suggest that chromosomes are duplicated by mitosis without cytokinesis before meiosis, i.e. premeiotic endomitosis and then oocytes differentiated from tetraploid oogonia undergo a quasinormal meiosis followed by two successive divisions to produce diploid eggs.     

芒苞草形态学和胚胎学研究：Ⅱ.花药和胚珠发育的研究

芒苞草成熟胚珠为倒生型,薄珠心,双珠被。胎座为侧膜胎座向中轴胎座的过渡类型。胚囊发育为单孢蓼型。 成熟胚囊由印器,具二极核的中央细胞及三个反足细胞组成。助细胞呈倒梨形,极性不明显,珠孔端壁有角状的丝状器。中央细胞的二极核在受精前融合为次生核。 花药具二个小孢子囊,花药壁层为单子叶型,具分泌型绒毡层,小孢子母细胞减数分裂时,胞质分裂为连续型,四分体是左右对称式排列,成熟花粉粒为二细胞的。 在花药与胚珠发育过程中,多糖物质的消长是有规律的变化。