Meiosis-associated calcium waves in ascidian oocytes are correlated with the position of the male centrosome

We have used confocal microscopy to measure calcium waves and examine the distribution of tubulin in oocytes of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis during meiosis. We show that the fertilisation calcium wave in these oocytes originates in the vegetal pole. The sperm penetration site and female meiotic apparatus are found at opposite poles of the oocyte at fertilisation, confirming that C. intestinalis sperm enter in the vegetal pole of the oocyte. Following fertilisation, ascidian oocytes are characterised by repetitive calcium waves. Meiosis I-associated waves originate at the vegetal pole of the oocyte, and travel towards the animal pole. In contrast, the calcium waves during meiosis II initiate at the oocyte equator, and cross the oocyte cytoplasm perpendicular to the point of emission of the polar body. Immunolocalisation of tubulin during meiosis II reveals that the male centrosome is also located between animal and vegetal poles prior to initiation of the meiosis II-associated calcium waves, suggesting that the male centrosome influences the origin of these calcium transients. Ascidians are also characterised by an increase in sensitivity to intracellular calcium release after fertilisation. We show that this is not simply an effect of oocyte activation. The data strongly suggest a role for the male centrosome in controlling the mechanism and localisation of post-fertilisation intracellular calcium waves.     

A wave of free cytosolic calcium traverses zebrafish eggs on activation.

The activation process in a variety of deuterostome and protostome eggs is accompanied by cytosolic calcium transients that usually take the form of either a single or multiple propagating waves. Here we report that the eggs of zebrafish (Danio rerio) are no exception in that they generate a single activation wave that traverses the egg at a velocity of around 9 microm/s. There appears, however, to be no difference between the calcium-mediated activation response of eggs with regard to the presence or absence of sperm in the spawning medium. This leads us to suggest that these eggs are normally activated when they come in contact with their spawning medium and are then subsequently fertilized. The aspermic wave is initiated at the animal pole in the region of the micropyle, appears to propagate mainly through the yolk-free egg cortex, and then terminates at the vegetal pole. As neither sperm nor external calcium is required for the initiation (or propagation) of the activation wave, this suggests that an alternative wave trigger must be involved.     

The repetitive calcium waves in the fertilized ascidian egg are initiated near the vegetal pole by a cortical pacemaker.

Ascidian eggs respond to fertilization with a series of repetitive calcium waves that originate mostly from the vegetal/contraction pole region (J. E. Speksnijder, C. Sardet, and L. F. Jaffe, 1990, Dev. Biol. 142, 246-249), where the myoplasm is concentrated during the first phase of ooplasmic segregation. This suggests that the myoplasm may be involved in initiating these calcium waves. To test this possibility, the starting position of the calcium waves was determined in eggs that had the subcortical, mitochondria-rich part of the myoplasm displaced by centrifugation. Such centrifuged eggs display four cytoplasmic layers: a large centrifugal yolk zone, a narrow clear zone, a mitochondria-rich layer, and a small clear zone at the centripetal pole. Imaging of the cytosolic calcium in centrifuged eggs that were injected with the calcium-specific photoprotein aequorin reveals a series of repetitive calcium waves after fertilization. About 70% of these waves start in the vegetal/contraction pole area, which is similar to the number of waves previously found to start in this area in uncentrifuged eggs. In contrast, only about 25% of the waves start close to the displaced mitochondria-rich layer. From this result it is concluded that the main wave initiation site is not displaced by the centrifugal forces that displace the subcortical, mitochondria-rich part of the myoplasm. Moreover, the observation that the animal-vegetal polarity of cortical components such as actin filaments and the endoplasmic reticulum has been retained after centrifugation further suggests that a cortical component located in the vegetal hemisphere--most likely the endoplasmic reticulum network in the cortical region of the myoplasm--is involved in initiating the repetitive calcium waves in the fertilized ascidian egg.     

A continuum model for surface contraction waves

The periodic travelling waves which appear on some animal eggs after fertilization are considered here. These are thought to be caused by a calcium initiated calcium release on the surface, causing calcium waves. A continuum model is developed where the cell is treated as a small viscous droplet with a surface contamination. When a periodic source of surfactant acts at one pole and propagates down the cell surface to the opposite pole, the drop responds by forming constriction rings which move from pole to pole.     

Surface contraction waves (SCWs) in the Xenopus egg are required for the localization of the germ plasm and are dependent upon maternal stores of the kinesin-like protein Xklp1

During the first four cell cycles in Xenopus, islands of germ plasm, initially distributed throughout the vegetal half of the egg cortex, move to the vegetal pole of the egg, fusing with each other as they do so, and form four large cytoplasmic masses. These are inherited by the vegetal cells that will enter the germ line. It has previously been shown that germ plasm islands are embedded in a cortical network of microtubules and that the microtubule motor protein Xklp1 is required for their localization to the vegetal pole [Robb, D., Heasman, J., Raats, J., and Wylie, C. (1996). Cell 87, 823-831]. Here, we show that germ plasm islands fail to localize and fuse in Xklp1-depleted eggs due to the abrogation of the global cytoplasmic movements known as surface contraction waves (SCWs). Thus, SCWs are shown to require a microtubule-based transport system for which Xklp1 is absolutely required, and the SCWs themselves represent a cortical transport system in the egg required for the correct distribution of at least one cytoplasmic determinant of future pattern.     

Calcium waves

Waves through living systems are best characterized by their speeds at 20 degrees C. These speeds vary from those of calcium action potentials to those of ultraslow ones which move at 1-10 and/or 10-20 nm s(-1). All such waves are known or inferred to be calcium waves. The two classes of calcium waves which include ones with important morphogenetic effects are slow waves that move at 0.2-2 microm s(-1) and ultraslow ones. Both may be propagated by cycles in which the entry of calcium through the plasma membrane induces subsurface contraction. This contraction opens nearby stretch-sensitive calcium channels. Calcium entry through these channels propagates the calcium wave. Many slow waves are seen as waves of indentation. Some are considered to act via cellular peristalsis; for example, those which seem to drive the germ plasm to the vegetal pole of the Xenopus egg. Other good examples of morphogenetic slow waves are ones through fertilizing maize eggs, through developing barnacle eggs and through axolotl embryos during neural induction. Good examples of ultraslow morphogenetic waves are ones during inversion in developing Volvox embryos and across developing Drosophila eye discs. Morphogenetic waves may be best pursued by imaging their calcium with aequorins.     

Cytoplasmic Ca2+ release induced by microinjection of Ca2+ and effects of microinjected divalent cations on Ca2+ sequestration and exocytosis of cortical alveoli in the medaka egg

Intracellular release of Ca2+ by microinjection of Ca2+ was analyzed by measuring the luminescence of aequorin loaded in eggs of the medaka (Oryzias latipes). Microinjection of Ca2+ into the cortical cytoplasm induced propagative waves of cytoplasmic Ca2+ release and exocytosis of cortical alveoli initiated at the injection point. The Ca2+ wave was initiated with a time lag after some was sequestered at the region of the microinjection. Microinjection of Mg2+ or Mn2+ failed to trigger Ca2+ release and exocytosis. When the aequorin-loaded eggs were inseminated after microinjection of Mg2+, Mn2+, or Co2+ into a restricted region of the vegetal hemisphere, the wave of Ca release was propagated through the injected region toward the vegetal pole, but neither Ca sequestration (fall in Ca-aequorin luminescence) nor exocytosis occurred at the area of cortex where the eggs were injected with these divalent cations. These results suggest that a significant period is required to induce Ca2+ release from cytoplasmic stores by the increased Ca2+ concentration and that both the phenomena of Ca2+ release and Ca sequestration are involved in the process of exocytosis.     

Production of hyperdorsal larvae by exposing uncleaved Xenopus eggs to a centrifugal force directed from the animal pole to the vegetal pole

Exposure of uncleaved Xenopus eggs to a centrifugal force directed from the animal pole to the vegetal pole produces larvae with enhanced dorsal structures, which resemble 'hyperdorso-anterior' larvae produced by D₂O-treatment at 0.3 normalized time (NT). Optimal conditions are 70 g for 6 min at 20% of the first cell cycle (0.2 NT). Exposure before removal of vegetal pole cortical cytoplasm, which we find has an effect of eliminating dorsal structures, protects eggs from losing their ability to form dorsal axial structures upon removal. In contrast, exposure after a slight ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation, which has virtually no effect on dorsal development, produces larvae with heavily reduced dorsal structures, which resemble 'ventralized' larvae produced by heavy UV-irradiation. Interestingly, none of these treatments prevents cortical rotation. Morphological and histological examinations reveal that exposure to the force causes displacement of both cortical and deep egg components from around the vegetal pole to subequatorial regions. We conclude that exposure to the centrifugal force enhances dorsal structures by displacing dorsal determinants from around the vegetal pole to subequatorial regions broader than normal. This is the first experiment in which displacement of egg components, by methods independent of the rotation, are shown to perturb larval body pattern.     

Elongated Microvilli on Vegetal Pole Cells in Sea Urchin Embryos

The ultrastructure of cells in the vegetal pole region of sea urchin embryos during early development to the mesenchyme blastula stage was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Vegetal pole cells in the ectoderm with longer microvilli than those of neighboring cells were first detectable at the early blastula stage just before hatching. These cells with elongated microvilli remained in the central region of the vegetal plate when most vegetal plate cells ingressed into the blastocoel to form primary mesenchyme. When first detectable in the sea urchin, Anthocidaris crassispina , four vegetal pole cells had elongated microvilli, but at the time of primary mesenchyme cell ingression, the number of cells with elongated microvilli had increased to eight, apparently by cell division. These vegetal pole cells were wedge-shaped with a broad surface adhering to the hyaline layer at the time of primary mesenchyme cell ingression. SEM observation of the outer surface of embryos showed that the microvilli extended into the hyaline layer. The reinforced attachment of vegetal pole cells to the hyaline layer through their elongated microvilli may explain why these cells could remain at the vegetal pole when the surrounding cells ingressed into the blastocoel as primary mesenchyme cells.     

'METACHRONOUS' CLEAVAGE AND INITIATION OF GASTRULATION IN AMPHIBIAN EMBRYOS

The cleavage pattern in the egg of Xenopus laevis has been investigated with the aid of time-lapse cinematography. From the 5th cleavage onward, divisions of the surface blastomeres are not synchronous but metachronous. A few blastomeres in a very restricted region which is situated in most cases in the dorsal side of the animal hemisphere, slightly distant from the median line and near the equatorial junction of the animal and vegetal hemispheres, divide before the other blastomeres, and a wave-like propagation of the divisions travels along the surface from that region toward the animal and vegetal poles. The wave-like propagation ends in the vegetal pole region. In the animal hemisphere, this pattern of cleavage is continued until the 13th cleavage and thereafter the divisions of surface blastomeres become asynchronous. In the vegetal pole region, however, the 14th metachronous division of blastomeres is clearly observed in the film. Gastrulation begins after 14 cleavages.     

Polarity and reorganization of the endoplasmic reticulum during fertilization and ooplasmic segregation in the ascidian egg

During the first cell cycle of the ascidian egg, two phases of ooplasmic segregation create distinct cytoplasmic domains that are crucial for later development. We recently defined a domain enriched in ER in the vegetal region of Phallusia mammillata eggs. To explore the possible physiological and developmental function of this ER domain, we here investigate its organization and fate by labeling the ER network in vivo with DiIC16(3), and observing its distribution before and after fertilization in the living egg. In unfertilized eggs, the ER-rich vegetal cortex is overlaid by the ER-poor but mitochondria-rich subcortical myoplasm. Fertilization results in striking rearrangements of the ER network. First, ER accumulates at the vegetal-contraction pole as a thick layer between the plasma membrane and the myoplasm. This accompanies the relocation of the myoplasm toward that region during the first phase of ooplasmic segregation. In other parts of the cytoplasm, ER becomes progressively redistributed into ER-rich and ER- poor microdomains. As the sperm aster grows, ER accumulates in its centrosomal area and along its astral rays. During the second phase of ooplasmic segregation, which takes place once meiosis is completed, the concentrated ER domain at the vegetal-contraction pole moves with the sperm aster and the bulk of the myoplasm toward the future posterior side of the embryo. These results show that after fertilization, ER first accumulates in the vegetal area from which repetitive calcium waves are known to originate (Speksnijder, J. E. 1992. Dev. Biol. 153:259-271). This ER domain subsequently colocalizes with the myoplasm to the presumptive primary muscle cell region.     

Polar localization of plasma membrane Ca2+/Mg2+ ATPase correlates with the pattern of steady ionic currents in eggs ofLymnaea stagnalis andBithynia tentaculata (Mollusca)

Summary During extrusion of the first polar body in eggs ofLymnaea stagnalis andBithynia tentaculata a localized Ca²⁺ /Mg²⁺ ATPase activity was detected, using Ando's enzyme-cytochemical method for electron microscopy [Ando et al. (1981) Acta Histochem Cytochem 14:705–726]. The enzyme activity was distributed in a polar fashion, along the cytoplasmic face of the plasma membrane. In the eggs ofLymnaea it was found only in the vegetal hemisphere, whereas inBithynia eggs it was localized both in the vegetal hemisphere and at the animal pole. This pattern of enzyme activity corresponds to the polar pattern of transcellular ionic currents measured with the vibrating probe, which we showed to be partially carried or regulated by calcium [Zivkovic and Dohmen (1989) Biol Bull (Woods Hole) 176 (Suppl):103–109]. The characteristics of the ATPase were studied using a variety of approaches such as ion and substrate depletions and substitutions, addition of specific inhibitors of ATPase activity, treatment with EDTA/EGTA and electron energy-loss spectrometry. The results indicate that, inLymnaea, there are at least two enzymatic entities. The first one is a Ca²⁺ /Mg²⁺ ATPase localized along the membrane and in the cortex of the vegetal hemisphere. The second one is a Ca²⁺-stimulated ATPase (calcium pump of the plasma membrane) localized in a small region of the membrane at the vegetal pole. We speculate that in the eggs ofLymnaea andBithynia a functional relationship exists between the plasma-membrane-associated ATPase activity and the transcellular ionic currents measured in the same region.     

Ultraviolet irradiation of eggs and blastomere isolation experiments suggest that gastrulation in the direct developing ascidian, Molgula pacifica, requires localized cytoplasmic determinants in the egg and cell signaling beginning at the two-cell stage

Gastrulation in the maximum direct developing ascidian Molgula pacifica is highly modified compared with commonly studied "model" ascidians in that endoderm cells situated in the vegetal pole region do not undergo typical invagination and due to the absence of a typical blastopore the involution of mesoderm cells is highly modified. At the gastrula stage, embryos are comprised of a central cluster of large yolky cells that are surrounded by a single layer of ectoderm cells in which there is only a slight indication of an inward movement of cells at the vegetal pole. As a consequence, these embryos do not form an archenteron. In the present study, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of fertilized eggs tested the possibility that cortical cytoplasmic factors are required for gastrulation, and blastomere isolation experiments tested the possibility that cell signaling beginning at the two-cell stage may be required for the development of the gastrula. Irradiation of unoriented fertilized eggs with UV light resulted in late cleavage stage embryos that failed to undergo gastrulation. When blastomeres were isolated from two-cell embryos, they developed into late cleavage stage embryos; however, they did not undergo gastrulation and subsequently develop into juveniles. These results suggest that cytoplasmic factors required for gastrulation are localized in the egg cortex, but in contrast to previously studied indirect developers, these factors are not exclusively localized in the vegetal pole region at the first stage of ooplasmic segregation. Furthermore, the inability of embryos derived from blastomeres isolated at the two-cell stage to undergo gastrulation and develop into juveniles suggests that important cell signaling begins as early as the two-cell stage in M. pacifica. These results are discussed in terms of the evolution of maximum direct development in ascidians.     

Fertilisation calcium signals in the ascidian egg

The egg of ascidians (urochordate), as virtually all animal and plant species, displays Ca2+ signals upon fertilisation. These Ca2+ signals are repetitive Ca2+ waves that initiate in the cortex of the egg and spread through the whole egg interior. Two series of Ca2+ waves triggered from two distinct Ca2+ wave pacemakers entrain the two meiotic divisions preceding entry into the first interphase. The second messenger inositol (1,4,5) trisphosphate (IP3) is the main mediator of these global Ca2+ waves. Other Ca2+ signalling pathways (RyR and NAADPR) are functional in the egg but they mediate localised cortical Ca2+ signals whose physiological significance remains unclear. The meiosis I Ca2+ wave pacemaker is mobile and relies on intracellular Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) induced by a large production of IP3 at the sperm aster site. The meiosis II Ca2+ wave pacemaker is stably localised in a vegetal protrusion called the contraction pole. It is probable that a local production of IP3 in the contraction pole determines the site of this second pacemaker while functional interactions between ER and mitochondria regulate its activity. Finally, a third ectopic pacemaker can be induced by a global increase in IP3, making the ascidian egg a unique system where three different Ca2+ wave pacemakers coexist in the same cell.     

Characterization and expression of two matrix metalloproteinase genes during sea urchin development

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an essential role in a variety of processes in development that require extracellular matrix remodeling and degradation. In this study, we characterize two MMPs from the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. These clones can both be identified as MMPs based on the presence of conserved domains such as the cysteine switch, zinc-binding, and hemopexin domains. In addition, both of these genes contain consensus furin cleavage sites and putative transmembrane domains, classifying them as membrane-type MMPs. We have named these clones SpMMP14 and SpMMP16 based on the vertebrate MMPs with which they share the greatest similarity. SpMMP14 is expressed in all cells from the egg to mesenchyme blastula stage embryo. Expression of this gene is strongest in the animal and vegetal poles early in gastrulation and in the animal pole only later in gastrulation. SpMMP16 is expressed at low levels in eggs. Expression of SpMMP16 becomes more pronounced in the vegetal pole region at the blastula and mesenchyme blastula stages and becomes confined to vegetal pole descendants, such as pigment cells, later in development. In the future, we hope to learn more about the possible functions of these genes in sea urchin development.     

Manipulation of cytokinesis affects polar ionic current around the egg of Lymnaea stagnalis

Summary The fertilized egg of the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis generates a polarized current pattern as measured with the vibrating probe. Here we investigated the basis of these polar ionic currents. Ionic currents were measured around eggs during the second meiotic division after interference with cytokinesis. Cytokinesis was either displaced by centrifugation or inhibited with cytochalasin or nocodazole. Furthermore, ectopic constrictions were induced with lectin treatment. It appeared that the inward current of the animal pole can be displaced by centrifugation and remains associated with the position of the meiotic apparatus. The influence of the meiotic apparatus on the polar current pattern seems to be directly related to membrane constrictions rather than to karyokinesis. This was demonstrated by a change in current density after induction of an ectopic constriction at the vegetal pole and by the abolishment of currents after cytochalasin treatment. Since the location of the outward current was not sensitive to centrifugation, it may be concluded that the vegetal outward current depends upon properties of the vegetal cortex. On the basis of these results, we conclude that the Lymnaea egg generates two types of ionic currents during the second meiotic division. The first is an inward current activated at the site of membrane constrictions. The second is an outward current associated with the vegetal cortex.     

Electron microscopic studies on primary mesenchyme cell ingression and gastrulation in relation to vegetal pole cell behavior in sea urchin embryos

Early morphogenetic events of primary mesenchyme cell (PMC) ingression and gastrulation were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, with special attention directed to changes in the shape of vegetal pole cells, the length of their microvilli, and interactions between microvilli and the hyaline layer (HL). Eight cells (vegetal pole cells) with elongated microvilli remained in the vegetal pole region while surrounding cells ingressed into the blastocoel to form the primary mesenchyme. These vegetal pole cells indented with the surrounding cells at the stage of gastrulation. The outer surface area with elongated microvilli of vegetal pole cells expanded at the stage of PMC ingression, but was considerably reduced at gastrulation. Microvilli on vegetal pole cells continued to adhere to the HL up to the stage of PMC ingression, but ceased to do so at the time of gastrulation. Thus, the area with separated HL, which is restricted to the region of the PMC released at the stage of PMC ingression, spreads almost entirely throughout the area of the indenting vegetal plate at gastrulation. The apical lamina, apparently consisting of fibrous material intertwinning the stalks of the microvilli, filled the space between the HL and ectodermal cells. The cells surrounding those of the vegetal pole and indenting with those at the stage of gastrulation appeared to behave in the same way as ingressing PMCs in both cell-shape and loss of adhesion of microvilli to HL. The role of vegetal pole cells in early morphogenetic events is discussed.     

Relocation and reorganization of germ plasm in Xenopus embryos after fertilization

In the unfertilized egg, germ plasm is widely distributed throughout the vegetal subcortex in small islets. Following fertilization or artificial activation, the location and organization changes, and by the 4- to 8-cell stage the germ plasm forms a small number of large patches overlying the vegetal pole. We distinguish three processes that produce these changes. The first of these is aggregation which involves the islets moving towards the vegetal pole to form large patches by coalescence. This phase requires microtubules but does not depend on cleavage or dynamic microfilaments. The second phase is ingression during which the patches of germ plasm move to the interior of the egg. The movement is due to a flow of cytoplasm from the vegetal pole internally and the cytoplasmic current does not require either microtubules or dynamic microfilaments. In the third phase, the germ plasm is trapped in the vegetal hemisphere by microtubular arrays--in normal development, the mitotic spindle.     

The activation wave of calcium in the ascidian egg and its role in ooplasmic segregation

We have studied egg activation and ooplasmic segregation in the ascidian Phallusia mammillata using an imaging system that let us simultaneously monitor egg morphology and calcium-dependent aequorin luminescence. After insemination, a wave of highly elevated free calcium crosses the egg with a peak velocity of 8-9 microns/s. A similar wave is seen in egg fertilized in the absence of external calcium. Artificial activation via incubation with WGA also results in a calcium wave, albeit with different temporal and spatial characteristics than in sperm-activated eggs. In eggs in which movement of the sperm nucleus after entry is blocked with cytochalasin D, the sperm aster is formed at the site where the calcium wave had previously started. This indicates that the calcium wave starts where the sperm enters. In 70% of the eggs, the calcium wave starts in the animal hemisphere, which confirms previous observations that there is a preference for sperm to enter this part of the egg (Speksnijder, J. E., L. F. Jaffe, and C. Sardet. 1989. Dev. Biol. 133:180-184). About 30-40 s after the calcium wave starts, a slower (1.4 microns/s) wave of cortical contraction starts near the animal pole. It carries the subcortical cytoplasm to a contraction pole, which forms away from the side of sperm entry and up to 50 degrees away from the vegetal pole. We propose that the point of sperm entry may affect the direction of ooplasmic segregation by causing it to tilt away from the vegetal pole, presumably via some action of the calcium wave.