Detection and mapping of interactions between chromatin and the nuclear envelope in drosophila embryos

Author(s):  
W.F. Marshall ◽  
A.F. Dernburg ◽  
B. Harmon ◽  
J.W. Sedat

Interactions between chromatin and nuclear envelope (NE) have been implicated in chromatin condensation, gene regulation, nuclear reassembly, and organization of chromosomes within the nucleus. To further investigate the physiological role played by such interactions, it will be necessary to determine which loci specifically interact with the nuclear envelope. This will not only facilitate identification of the molecular determinants of this interaction, but will also allow manipulation of the pattern of chromatin-NE interactions to probe possible functions. We have developed a microscopic approach to detect and map chromatin-NE interactions inside intact cells.Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is used to localize specific chromosomal regions within the nucleus of Drosophila embryos and anti-lamin immunofluorescence is used to detect the nuclear envelope. Widefield deconvolution microscopy is then used to obtain a three-dimensional image of the sample (Fig. 1). The nuclear surface is represented by a surface-harmonic expansion (Fig 2). A statistical test for association of the FISH spot with the surface is then performed.

1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 825-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
W F Marshall ◽  
A F Dernburg ◽  
B Harmon ◽  
D A Agard ◽  
J W Sedat

Specific interactions of chromatin with the nuclear envelope (NE) in early embryos of Drosophila melanogaster have been mapped and analyzed. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, the three-dimensional positions of 42 DNA probes, primarily to chromosome 2L, have been mapped in nuclei of intact Drosophila embryos, revealing five euchromatic and two heterochromatic regions associated with the NE. These results predict that there are approximately 15 NE contacts per chromosome arm, which delimit large chromatin loops of approximately 1-2 Mb. These NE association sites do not strictly correlate with scaffold-attachment regions, heterochromatin, or binding sites of known chromatin proteins. Pairs of neighboring probes surrounding one NE association site were used to delimit the NE association site more precisely, suggesting that peripheral localization of a large stretch of chromatin is likely to result from NE association at a single discrete site. These NE interactions are not established until after telophase, by which time the nuclear envelope has reassembled around the chromosomes, and they are thus unlikely to be involved in binding of NE vesicles to chromosomes following mitosis. Analysis of positions of these probes also reveals that the interphase nucleus is strongly polarized in a Rabl configuration which, together with specific targeting to the NE or to the nuclear interior, results in each locus occupying a highly determined position within the nucleus.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julianna Bozler ◽  
Huy Q Nguyen ◽  
Gregory C Rogers ◽  
Giovanni Bosco

Abstract Although the nuclear envelope is known primarily for its role as a boundary between the nucleus and cytoplasm in eukaryotes, it plays a vital and dynamic role in many cellular processes. Studies of nuclear structure have revealed tissue-specific changes in nuclear envelope architecture, suggesting that its three-dimensional structure contributes to its functionality. Despite the importance of the nuclear envelope, the factors that regulate and maintain nuclear envelope shape remain largely unexplored. The nuclear envelope makes extensive and dynamic interactions with the underlying chromatin. Given this inexorable link between chromatin and the nuclear envelope, it is possible that local and global chromatin organization reciprocally impact nuclear envelope form and function. In this study, we use Drosophila salivary glands to show that the three-dimensional structure of the nuclear envelope can be altered with condensin II-mediated chromatin condensation. Both naturally occurring and engineered chromatin-envelope interactions are sufficient to allow chromatin compaction forces to drive distortions of the nuclear envelope. Weakening of the nuclear lamina further enhanced envelope remodeling, suggesting that envelope structure is capable of counterbalancing chromatin compaction forces. Our experiments reveal that the nucleoplasmic reticulum is born of the nuclear envelope and remains dynamic in that they can be reabsorbed into the nuclear envelope. We propose a model where inner nuclear envelope-chromatin tethers allow interphase chromosome movements to change nuclear envelope morphology. Therefore, interphase chromatin compaction may be a normal mechanism that reorganizes nuclear architecture, while under pathological conditions, such as laminopathies, compaction forces may contribute to defects in nuclear morphology.


1997 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 2119-2132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Winey ◽  
Defne Yarar ◽  
Thomas H. Giddings ◽  
David N. Mastronarde

The number of nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) in individual nuclei of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was determined by computer-aided reconstruction of entire nuclei from electron micrographs of serially sectioned cells. Nuclei of 32 haploid cells at various points in the cell cycle were modeled and found to contain between 65 and 182 NPCs. Morphological markers, such as cell shape and nuclear shape, were used to determine the cell cycle stage of the cell being examined. NPC number was correlated with cell cycle stage to reveal that the number of NPCs increases steadily, beginning in G1-phase, suggesting that NPC assembly occurs continuously throughout the cell cycle. However, the accumulation of nuclear envelope observed during the cell cycle, indicated by nuclear surface area, is not continuous at the same rate, such that the density of NPCs per unit area of nuclear envelope peaks in apparent S-phase cells. Analysis of the nuclear envelope reconstructions also revealed no preferred NPC-to-NPC distance. However, NPCs were found in large clusters over regions of the nuclear envelope. Interestingly, clusters of NPCs were most pronounced in early mitotic nuclei and were found to be associated with the spindle pole bodies, but the functional significance of this association is unknown.


Author(s):  
Kenneth C. Carter ◽  
Douglas Bowman ◽  
Walter Carrington ◽  
Kevin Fogarty ◽  
John A. McNeil ◽  
...  

The physical distribution of active genes has long been a subject of interest and speculation, however technical limitations have necessitated that it be addressed only by indirect approaches with sometimes contradictory results. However, developments in fluorescence in situ hybridization methodologies allow the position of specific genes and RNAs to be visualized directly within intact cells, thus providing a more direct means to study such questions. To address whether compartmentalization occurs during the production and processing of pre-mRNA in mammalian somatic cells we have recently investigated the distribution of nuclear polyadenylated transcripts which represent approximately 90% of all pre-mRNA. We found that poly(A) RNA forms discrete nuclear “transcript domains” which are specifically positioned with respect to the underlying genome and contain snRNP antigens of the pre-mRNA splicing class. Several lines of evidence indicate a close spatial and temporal linkage between transcription and processing of pol II RNAs (reviewed in 5), therefore, it is possible that poly(A) RNA transcript domains reflect a clustering of active genes at these sites.


1984 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-138
Author(s):  
A. Belmont ◽  
F.M. Kendall ◽  
C. Nicolini

Characteristic variations in nuclear morphology occurring with variations in the physiological state of the cell have been observed in a number of systems to date. In this paper, we have critically examined the relationship between nuclear morphology and intranuclear DNA organization near the G1-S transition in HeLa S-3 cells, by the study of both the spatial distribution of optical density values and the optical density histograms for individual Feulgen-stained nuclei. Our results demonstrate that the majority of the DNA is located in a narrow shell surrounding the nuclear and nucleolar borders, and present evidence for at least three discrete states of chromatin condensation. Greater than 90% of the genome appears distributed among the two classes with larger density, and a redistribution between these two classes occurs as a function of changing nuclear size. Numerical simulations indicate that the observed distribution does not arise as an artifact related to overlapping but, in fact, actually represents discrete states of condensation. Interestingly, the extrapolated nuclear area at which the fraction of DNA in the state of highest density is reduced to zero, corresponds closely to the nuclear size shown elsewhere as representing the critical size that HeLa S-3 nuclei must exceed in order to initiate S phase.


Author(s):  
J. P. Revel

Movement of individual cells or of cell sheets and complex patterns of folding play a prominent role in the early developmental stages of the embryo. Our understanding of these processes is based on three- dimensional reconstructions laboriously prepared from serial sections, and from autoradiographic and other studies. Many concepts have also evolved from extrapolation of investigations of cell movement carried out in vitro. The scanning electron microscope now allows us to examine some of these events in situ. It is possible to prepare dissections of embryos and even of tissues of adult animals which reveal existing relationships between various structures more readily than used to be possible vithout an SEM.


Author(s):  
D. Reis ◽  
B. Vian ◽  
J. C. Roland

Wall morphogenesis in higher plants is a problem still open to controversy. Until now the possibility of a transmembrane control and the involvement of microtubules were mostly envisaged. Self-assembly processes have been observed in the case of walls of Chlamydomonas and bacteria. Spontaneous gelling interactions between xanthan and galactomannan from Ceratonia have been analyzed very recently. The present work provides indications that some processes of spontaneous aggregation could occur in higher plants during the formation and expansion of cell wall.Observations were performed on hypocotyl of mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) for which growth characteristics and wall composition have been previously defined.In situ, the walls of actively growing cells (primary walls) show an ordered three-dimensional organization (fig. 1). The wall is typically polylamellate with multifibrillar layers alternately transverse and longitudinal. Between these layers intermediate strata exist in which the orientation of microfibrils progressively rotates. Thus a progressive change in the morphogenetic activity occurs.


Author(s):  
S. Naka ◽  
R. Penelle ◽  
R. Valle

The in situ experimentation technique in HVEM seems to be particularly suitable to clarify the processes involved in recrystallization. The material under investigation was unidirectionally cold-rolled titanium of commercial purity. The problem was approached in two different ways. The three-dimensional analysis of textures was used to describe the texture evolution during the primary recrystallization. Observations of bulk-annealed specimens or thin foils annealed in the microscope were also made in order to provide information concerning the mechanisms involved in the formation of new grains. In contrast to the already published work on titanium, this investigation takes into consideration different values of the cold-work ratio, the temperature and the annealing time.Two different models are commonly used to explain the recrystallization textures i.e. the selective grain growth model (Beck) or the oriented nucleation model (Burgers). The three-dimensional analysis of both the rolling and recrystallization textures was performed to identify the mechanismsl involved in the recrystallization of titanium.


Author(s):  
Greg V. Martin ◽  
Ann L. Hubbard

The microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton is necessary for many of the polarized functions of hepatocytes. Among the functions dependent on the MT-based cytoskeleton are polarized secretion of proteins, delivery of endocytosed material to lysosomes, and transcytosis of integral plasma membrane (PM) proteins. Although microtubules have been shown to be crucial to the establishment and maintenance of functional and structural polarization in the hepatocyte, little is known about the architecture of the hepatocyte MT cytoskeleton in vivo, particularly with regard to its relationship to PM domains and membranous organelles. Using an in situ extraction technique that preserves both microtubules and cellular membranes, we have developed a protocol for immunofluorescent co-localization of cytoskeletal elements and integral membrane proteins within 20 µm cryosections of fixed rat liver. Computer-aided 3D reconstruction of multi-spectral confocal microscope images was used to visualize the spatial relationships among the MT cytoskeleton, PM domains and intracellular organelles.


Author(s):  
H. Ishigooka ◽  
S. Ueno ◽  
L.M. Hjelmeland ◽  
M.B. Landers ◽  
K. Ogawa

Introduction: We have demonstrated that Glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) activity is localized to the endoplasmic reticulum and nuclear envelope of Mueller glia in the normal and pathological guinea pig retina. Using a combination of this cytochemical technique and high voltage electron microscopy, the distribution of nuclear pores could be clearly observed on the nuclear envelope of Mueller glia because of their anatomical lack of reaction products. This technique was developed to study the three-dimensional structure of nuclei and to calculate total numbers of nuclear pores utilizing a computer graphic analysis system in the normal and pathological retina.Materials and methods: Normal and photocoagulated retina of pigmented adult guinea pigs were perfused with a cold mixture of 0.25% glutaraldehyde and 2% paraformaldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer, and the enucleated globes were hemisected and immersed in the same fixative for 30 min. After sectioning and incubation in the reaction medium for the detection of G6Pase activity by the method of Wachstein-Meisel, the sections were postfixed, dehydrated and embedded in Spurr’s epoxy resin. Serial thick sections (1.0um) were prepared for the observation by a Hitachi high voltage electron microscope (H 1250-M) with an accelerating voltage of 1000 Kv. and pictures were analyzed and three-dimensionally reconstructed by TRI (RATOC Co., Ltd.).


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