Nuclear texture in mitotic cells

Nuclear texture in mitotic cells of Drosophila melanogaster imaginal discs has been studied. The distribution of voxels of DAPI fluorescence intensity was used as a quantitative measure of the nuclear texture. The integral characteristics, such as the portion of voxels with a given fluorescent signal level and autocorrelation of pixel intensities, were used. We showed that the nuclear texture specifically changed at various mitotic stages. It can be used for more precise staging of mitosis. Colchicine treatment induced substantial changes in the nuclear texture. This gives a possibility to detect pathologies related to abnormal mitoses by the nuclear-texture approach.