scholarly journals Detergent-extractedVolvoxmodel exhibits an anterior–posterior gradient in flagellar Ca2+sensitivity

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (5) ◽  
pp. E1061-E1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noriko Ueki ◽  
Ken-ichi Wakabayashi
Keyword(s):  
Green Alga ◽  
Intercellular Communication ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Anterior Pole ◽  
Flagellar Motility ◽  
Light Stimulation ◽  
Dependent Change ◽  
Anterior Posterior ◽  
As If

Volvox rousseletiiis a multicellular spheroidal green alga containing ∼5,000 cells, each equipped with two flagella (cilia). This organism shows striking photobehavior without any known intercellular communication. To help understand how the behavior of flagella is regulated, we developed a method to extract the whole organism with detergent and reactivate its flagellar motility. Upon addition of ATP, demembranated flagella (axonemes) in the spheroids actively beat and the spheroids swam as if they were alive. Under Ca2+-free conditions, the axonemes assumed planar and asymmetrical waveforms and beat toward the posterior pole, as do live spheroids in the absence of light stimulation. In the presence of 10−6M Ca2+, however, most axonemes beat three-dimensionally toward the anterior pole, similar to flagella in photostimulated live spheroids. This Ca2+-dependent change in flagellar beating direction was more conspicuous near the anterior pole of the spheroid, but was not observed near the posterior pole. This anterior–posterior gradient of flagellar Ca2+sensitivity may explain the mechanism ofV. rousseletiiphotobehavior.

Anterior Movement of the Crystalline Lens in the Process of Accommodation in Children

2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J. Kaluzny
Keyword(s):  
Refractive Error ◽  
Axial Length ◽  
Crystalline Lens ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Anterior Pole ◽  
Forward Movement ◽  
Ophthalmic Examination ◽  
Lens Thickness ◽  
Lens Position ◽  
Refractive Status

Purpose To investigate changes of crystalline lens position during accommodation in children with emmetropia, myopia, and hyperopia. Methods A total of 188 children (372 eyes) from 4 to 19 years old (mean age 11.3±4.43) with cycloplegic refractive error within a range +9.00 D to −9.00 D were enrolled. After a general ophthalmic examination, ultrasound biometry was performed, with the eye at a maximal accommodative effort. Cycloplegia was induced by triple installation of 1% tropicamide drops and 30 minutes later the biometric examination was repeated. Results In emmetropic eyes in the process of accommodation, the anterior pole of the crystalline lens moved forward by 0.144±0.14 mm (p ≤ 0.001); the position of the posterior pole did not change. In myopic eyes, the anterior pole moved forward by 0.071±0.13 mm (p≤0.001) and the posterior pole moved backward by 0.039±0.10 mm (p=0.003). In hyperopic eyes, the whole lens translocated anteriorly: anterior pole moved forward by 0.242±0.16 mm (p≤ 0.001) and posterior pole moved forward by 0.036±0.09 mm (p≤0.001). Differences among emmetropia, myopia, and hyperopia were statistically significant. Forward movement of the posterior pole correlated with a low axial length of the eye, and also with plus refractive error and with a smaller accommodative increase of lens thickness. Conclusions In children, accommodative changes of the crystalline lens position depend on refractive status.

Expression pattern ofBrachyuryin the molluscPatella vulgatasuggests a conserved role in the establishment of the AP axis in Bilateria

Development ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 129 (6) ◽  
pp. 1411-1421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Lartillot ◽  
Olivier Lespinet ◽  
Michel Vervoort ◽  
André Adoutte
Keyword(s):  
Expression Pattern ◽  
Bilateral Symmetry ◽  
Growth Zone ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Axis Formation ◽  
Posterior Edge ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Posterior Growth Zone ◽  
Erk Activity ◽  
Anterior Posterior

We report the characterisation of a Brachyury ortholog (PvuBra) in the marine gastropod Patella vulgata. In this mollusc, the embryo displays an equal cleavage pattern until the 32-cell stage. There, an inductive event takes place that sets up the bilateral symmetry, by specifying one of the four initially equipotent vegetal macromeres as the posterior pole of all subsequent morphogenesis. This macromere, usually designated as 3D, will subsequently act as an organiser. We show that 3D expresses PvuBra as soon as its fate is determined. As reported for another mollusc (J. D. Lambert and L. M. Nagy (2001) Development128, 45-56), we found that 3D determination and activity also involve the activation of the MAP kinase ERK, and we further show that PvuBra expression in 3D requires ERK activity. PvuBra expression then rapidly spreads to neighbouring cells that cleave in a bilateral fashion and whose progeny will constitute the posterior edge of the blastopore during gastrulation, suggesting a role for PvuBra in regulating cell movements and cleavage morphology in Patella. Until the completion of gastrulation, PvuBra expression is maintained at the posterior pole, and along the developing anterior-posterior axis. Comparing this expression pattern with what is known in other Bilateria, we advocate that Brachyury might have a conserved role in the regulation of anterior-posterior patterning among Bilateria, through the maintenance of a posterior growth zone, suggesting that a teloblastic mode of axis formation might be ancestral to the Bilateria.

Instability of the anteroposterior axis in spontaneous double abdomen (sda), a genetic variant of Chironomus samoensis (Diptera, Chironomidae)

Development ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-603 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.L. Kuhn ◽  
J. Percy ◽  
M. Laurel ◽  
K. Kalthoff
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variant ◽  
Laboratory Strain ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Mirror Image ◽  
Anterior Pole ◽  
Spontaneous Formation ◽  
Pole Cells ◽  
Anterior Segments ◽  
Egg Polarity

We have isolated a laboratory strain of Chironomus samoensis in which determination of the anteroposterior egg polarity is disturbed. Most conspicuous is the spontaneous formation of ‘double abdomen’ embryos where head and thorax are replaced by a mirror image of the abdomen. Such double abdomens are found in about half of the egg clusters in this strain, which we call the spontaneous double abdomen (sda) strain as opposed to the normal (N) strain. Also observed in the sda strain, although less frequently, are ‘double cephalon’ embryos showing a mirror-image duplication of cephalic segments in the absence of thorax and abdomen. Moreover, embryos from the sda strain tend to form cells at the anterior pole resembling the pole cells at the posterior pole. Reciprocal crossings between the sda and the N strain indicate that the sda trait is inherited maternally. Spontaneous double abdomen formation is correlated with signs of disturbed egg architecture, including extruded yolk and detached cells. Double cephalons can also be generated by centrifuging embryos from the N strain, whereas centrifugation of sda embryos produces mostly double abdomens. Double abdomen formation can be induced experimentally by anterior u.v. irradiation of embryos from either strain. The sda trait and u.v. irradiation act in a synergistic fashion. The data suggest that the sda trait may be caused by one or more genomic mutations interfering indirectly with the activity of anterior determinants, i.e. cytoplasmic RNP particles necessary for the development of anterior segments. The sda defects may be ascribed to alterations in cytoskeletal components involved in anchoring anterior determinants and segregating them into anterior blastoderm cells.

scholarly journals Regulatory crosstalk between motility and interbacterial communication in Salmonella Typhimurium

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Plitnick ◽  
Fabienne F.V. Chevance ◽  
Anne Stringer ◽  
Kelly T. Hughes ◽  
Joseph T. Wade
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Transcription Factor ◽  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Intercellular Communication ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Flagellar Motility ◽  
Σ Factor ◽  
Regulatory Link ◽  
Non Coding Rnas ◽  
Quorum Sensing Signals

ABSTRACTFliA is a broadly conserved σ factor that directs transcription of genes involved in flagellar motility. We previously identified FliA-transcribed genes in Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, and we showed that E. coli FliA transcribes many unstable, non-coding RNAs from intragenic promoters. Here, we show that FliA in S. Typhimurium also directs transcription of large numbers of unstable, non-coding RNAs from intragenic promoters, and we identify two previously unreported FliA-transcribed protein-coding genes. One of these genes, sdiA, encodes a transcription factor that responds to quorum sensing signals produced by other bacteria. We show that FliA-dependent transcription of sdiA is required for SdiA activity, highlighting a regulatory link between flagellar motility and intercellular communication.IMPORTANCEInitiation of bacterial transcription requires association of a σ factor with the core RNA polymerase to facilitate sequence-specific recognition of promoter elements. FliA is a widely conserved σ factor that directs transcription of genes involved in flagellar motility. We previously showed that Escherichia coli FliA transcribes many unstable, non-coding RNAs from promoters within genes. Here, we demonstrate the same phenomenon in Salmonella Typhimurium. We also show that S. Typhimurium FliA directs transcription of the sdiA gene, which encodes a transcription factor that responds to quorum sensing signals produced by other bacteria. FliA-dependent transcription of sdiA is required for transcriptional control of SdiA target genes, highlighting a regulatory link between flagellar motility and intercellular communication.

Mutations in the Drosophila gene bullwinkle cause the formation of abnormal eggshell structures and bicaudal embryos

Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (9) ◽  
pp. 3023-3033 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.R. Rittenhouse ◽  
C.A. Berg
Keyword(s):  
Cell Migration ◽  
Cell Fate ◽  
Germ Line ◽  
Follicle Cell ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Mirror Image ◽  
Follicle Cells ◽  
Anterior Pole ◽  
Posterior Group ◽  
General Transport

Subcellular localization of gene products and cell migration are both critical for pattern formation during development. The bullwinkle gene is required in Drosophila for disparate aspects of these processes. In females mutant at the bullwinkle locus, the follicle cells that synthesize the dorsal eggshell filaments do not migrate properly, creating short, broad structures. Mosaic analyses demonstrate that wild-type BULLWINKLE function is required in the germ line for these migrations. Since the mRNA for gurken, the putative ligand that signals dorsal follicle cell fate, is correctly localized in bullwinkle mutants, we conclude that our bullwinkle alleles do not affect the dorsoventral polarity of the oocyte and thus must be affecting the follicle cell migrations in some other way. In addition, the embryos that develop from bullwinkle mothers are bicaudal. A KINESIN:beta-GALACTOSIDASE fusion protein is correctly localized to the posterior pole of bullwinkle oocytes during stage 9. Thus, the microtubule structure of the oocyte and general transport along it do not appear to be disrupted prior to cytoplasmic streaming. Unlike other bicaudal mutants, oskar mRNA is localized correctly to the posterior pole of the oocyte at stage 10. By early embryogenesis, however, some oskar mRNA is mislocalized to the anterior pole. Consistent with the mislocalization of oskar mRNA, a fraction of the VASA protein and nanos mRNA are also mislocalized to the anterior pole of bullwinkle embryos. Mislocalization of nanos mRNA to the anterior is dependent on functional VASA protein. Although the mirror-image segmentation defects appear to result from the action of the posterior group genes, germ cells are not formed at the anterior pole. The bicaudal phenotype is also germ-line dependent for bullwinkle. We suspect that BULLWINKLE interacts with the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix and is necessary for gene product localization and cell migration during oogenesis after stage 10a.

Spire contains actin binding domains and is related to ascidian posterior end mark-5

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 5267-5274 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Wellington ◽  
S. Emmons ◽  
B. James ◽  
J. Calley ◽  
M. Grover ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Actin Binding ◽  
Binding Domains ◽  
Trap System ◽  
Rho Family Gtpases ◽  
Rho Family ◽  
Interaction Trap ◽  
Anterior Posterior

Spire is a maternal effect locus that affects both the dorsal-ventral and anterior-posterior axes of the Drosophila egg and embryo. It is required for localization of determinants within the developing oocyte to the posterior pole and to the dorsal anterior corner. During mid-oogenesis, spire mutants display premature microtubule-dependent cytoplasmic streaming, a phenotype that can be mimicked by pharmacological disruption of the actin cytoskeleton with cytochalasin D. Spire has been cloned by transposon tagging and is related to posterior end mark-5, a gene from sea squirts that encodes a posteriorly localized mRNA. Spire mRNA is not, however, localized to the posterior pole. SPIRE also contains two domains with similarity to the actin monomer-binding WH2 domain, and we demonstrate that SPIRE binds to actin in the interaction trap system and in vitro. In addition, SPIRE interacts with the rho family GTPases RHOA, RAC1 and CDC42 in the interaction trap system. Thus, our evidence supports the model that SPIRE links rho family signaling to the actin cytoskeleton.

Translational control of oskar generates short OSK, the isoform that induces pole plasma assembly

Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (11) ◽  
pp. 3723-3732 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.H. Markussen ◽  
A.M. Michon ◽  
W. Breitwieser ◽  
A. Ephrussi
Keyword(s):  
Positive Feedback ◽  
Translational Control ◽  
Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Start Codon ◽  
Anterior Pole ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Alternative Start Codon ◽  
Positive Feedback Mechanism ◽  
Pole Plasm

At the posterior pole of the Drosophila oocyte, oskar induces a tightly localized assembly of pole plasm. This spatial restriction of oskar activity has been thought to be achieved by the localization of oskar mRNA, since mislocalization of the RNA to the anterior induces anterior pole plasm. However, ectopic pole plasm does not form in mutant ovaries where oskar mRNA is not localized, suggesting that the unlocalized mRNA is inactive. As a first step towards understanding how oskar activity is restricted to the posterior pole, we analyzed oskar translation in wild type and mutants. We show that the targeting of oskar activity to the posterior pole involves two steps of spatial restriction, cytoskeleton-dependent localization of the mRNA and localization-dependent translation. Furthermore, our experiments demonstrate that two isoforms of Oskar protein are produced by alternative start codon usage. The short isoform, which is translated from the second in-frame AUG of the mRNA, has full oskar activity. Finally, we show that when oskar RNA is localized, accumulation of Oskar protein requires the functions of vasa and tudor, as well as oskar itself, suggesting a positive feedback mechanism in the induction of pole plasm by oskar.

scholarly journals Disappearance of Temporal Collinearity in Vertebrates and its Eventual Reappearance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Spyros Papageorgiou
Keyword(s):  
Hox Genes ◽  
Hox Cluster ◽  
Spatial Dimensions ◽  
Anterior Posterior ◽  
As If ◽  
Anterior Posterior Axis

It was observed that a cluster of ordered genes (Hox1, Hox2, Hox3,…) in the genome are activated in the ontogenetic units (1, 2, 3,…) of an embryo along the Anterior/Posterior axis following the same order of the Hox genes. This Spatial Collinearity (SC) is very strange since it correlates events of very different spatial dimensions. It was later observed in vertebrates, that, in the above ordering, first is Hox1expressed in ontogenetic unit 1, followed later by Hox2 in unit 2, and even later Hox3 in unit 3….This temporal collinearity (TC) is an enigma and even to-day is explored in depth. In 1999 T. Kondo and D. Duboule, after posterior upstream extended DNA excisions , concluded that the Hox cluster behaves ‘as if’ TC disappears. Here the consideration of TC really disappearing is taken face value and its repercussions are analyzed. Furthermore, an experiment is proposed to test TC disappearance. An outcome of this experiment could be the reappearance (partial or total) of TC.

scholarly journals Embryonic Development of Eye Lens in Mosquito fish Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard, 1853)

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-511
Author(s):  
Baghdad Science Journal
Keyword(s):  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Equatorial Region ◽  
Gambusia Affinis ◽  
Eye Lens ◽  
Anterior Pole ◽  
Posterior Edge ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Mosquito Fish ◽  
Lens Vesicle

The embryonic development of the Mosquito fish(Gambusia affinis) eye lens was investigated using light microscopy .The results indicated that the embryonic development of the lens does not correspond to that of the non spherical lenses of terrestrial vertebrates .This study showed that a very small cavity in the lens vesicle appears during development ,but it differs from that of the mammalian lens. The most important aspect in this study is that ,the posterior edge of the simple cuboidal epithelium which covers the anterior half of the surface of the lens is situated well beyond the equatorial region of the lens .As a result , the germinal and transitional zones became closer to the posterior pole rather than the anterior pole of the lens. This might be an important factor in causing the lens to be spherical rather than being biconvex.

Spermiogenesis in the Nine-Banded Armadillo

1973 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 632-633
Author(s):  
Frank J. Weaker
Keyword(s):  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Golgi Apparatus ◽  
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Posterior Pole ◽  
Seminiferous Tubules ◽  
Anterior Pole ◽  
Chromatoid Body ◽  
Acrosome Formation

The testes of mature armadillos were fixed by either perfusion or immersion. The morphology of the seminiferous tubules and the process of spermiogenesis were studied.The developing spermatids are generally oval in shape and contain a centrally placed nucleus. A well-developed Golgi apparatus, scattered mitochondria, centrioles, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, and a chromatoid body are observed within the cytoplasm. Granules formed within the Golgi appear to coalesce to form the acrosomal granule, which is enclosed within a vesicle (Fi,g. 1). The acrosome adheres to the nucleus at the anterior pole of the developing spermatid. The acrosome vesicle collapses and extends over the anterior two-thirds of the nucleus (Fig. 2). As this vesicle expands, the Golgi continues to release granules into the vesicle. Concomitant with acrosome formation, the centrioles and chromatoid body migrate to the posterior pole of the developing cell.

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