scholarly journals The mechanism of cytoplasmic streaming in characean algal cells: sliding of endoplasmic reticulum along actin filaments.

1988 ◽  
Vol 106 (5) ◽  
pp. 1545-1552 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Kachar ◽  
T S Reese
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Cytoplasmic Streaming ◽  
Giant Cells ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Shear Forces ◽  
Actin Cables ◽  
Fast Freezing ◽  
Characean Algae

Electron microscopy of directly frozen giant cells of characean algae shows a continuous, tridimensional network of anastomosing tubes and cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum which pervade the streaming region of their cytoplasm. Portions of this endoplasmic reticulum contact the parallel bundles of actin filaments at the interface with the stationary cortical cytoplasm. Mitochondria, glycosomes, and other small cytoplasmic organelles enmeshed in the endoplasmic reticulum network display Brownian motion while streaming. The binding and sliding of endoplasmic reticulum membranes along actin cables can also be directly visualized after the cytoplasm of these cells is dissociated in a buffer containing ATP. The shear forces produced at the interface with the dissociated actin cables move large aggregates of endoplasmic reticulum and other organelles. The combination of fast-freezing electron microscopy and video microscopy of living cells and dissociated cytoplasm demonstrates that the cytoplasmic streaming depends on endoplasmic reticulum membranes sliding along the stationary actin cables. Thus, the continuous network of endoplasmic reticulum provides a means of exerting motive forces on cytoplasm deep inside the cell distant from the cortical actin cables where the motive force is generated.

scholarly journals Effects of Dithiothreitol on Fertilization and Early Development in Sea Urchin

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3573
Author(s):  
Nunzia Limatola ◽  
Jong Tai Chun ◽  
Sawsen Cherraben ◽  
Jean-Louis Schmitt ◽  
Jean-Marie Lehn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Early Development ◽  
Sea Urchin ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Cortical Granule ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Phenotypic Changes ◽  
Sea Urchin Egg ◽  
Cortical Granule Exocytosis

The vitelline layer (VL) of a sea urchin egg is an intricate meshwork of glycoproteins that intimately ensheathes the plasma membrane. During fertilization, the VL plays important roles. Firstly, the receptors for sperm reside on the VL. Secondly, following cortical granule exocytosis, the VL is elevated and transformed into the fertilization envelope (FE), owing to the assembly and crosslinking of the extruded materials. As these two crucial stages involve the VL, its alteration was expected to affect the fertilization process. In the present study, we addressed this question by mildly treating the eggs with a reducing agent, dithiothreitol (DTT). A brief pretreatment with DTT resulted in partial disruption of the VL, as judged by electron microscopy and by a novel fluorescent polyamine probe that selectively labelled the VL. The DTT-pretreated eggs did not elevate the FE but were mostly monospermic at fertilization. These eggs also manifested certain anomalies at fertilization: (i) compromised Ca2+ signaling, (ii) blocked translocation of cortical actin filaments, and (iii) impaired cleavage. Some of these phenotypic changes were reversed by restoring the DTT-exposed eggs in normal seawater prior to fertilization. Our findings suggest that the FE is not the decisive factor preventing polyspermy and that the integrity of the VL is nonetheless crucial to the egg’s fertilization response.

SRO9, a Multicopy Suppressor of the Bud Gpowth Defect in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae rho3-Deficient Cells, Shows Strong Genetic Interactions With Tropomyosin Genes, Suggesting Its Role in Organization of the Actin Cytoskeleton

Genetics ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 147 (3) ◽  
pp. 1003-1016
Author(s):  
Mitsuhiro Kagami ◽  
Akio Toh-e ◽  
Yasushi Matsui
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Actin Cytoskeleton ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Rna Binding ◽  
Small Gtpase ◽  
Growth Defect ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Cytoplasmic Factor ◽  
Multicopy Suppressor ◽  
Actin Cables

RHO3 encodes a Rho-type small GTPase in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and is involved in the proper organization of the actin cytoskeleton required for bud growth. SRO9 (YCL37c) was isolated as a multicopy suppressor of a rho3Δ mutation. An Sro9p domain required for function is similar to a domain in the La protein (an RNA-binding protein). Disruption of SRO9 did not affect vegetative growth, even with the simultaneous disruption of an SRO9 homologue, SRO99. However, sro9Δ was synthetically lethal with a disruption of TPM1, which encodes tropomyosin; sro9Δ tpm1Δ cells did not distribute cortical actin patches properly and lysed. We isolated TPM2, the other gene for tropomyosin, as a multicopy suppressor of a tpm1Δ sro9Δ double mutant. Genetic analysis suggests that TPM2 is functionally related to TPM1 and that tropomyosin is important but not essential for cell growth. Overexpression of SRO9 suppressed the growth defect in tpm1Δ tpm2Δ cells, disappearance of cables of actin filaments in both rho3Δ cells and tpm1Δ cells, and temperature sensitivity of actin mutant cells (act1-1 cells), suggesting that Sro9p has a function that overlaps or is related to tropomyosin function. Unlike tropomyosin, Sro9p does not colocalize with actin cables but is diffusely cytoplasmic. These results suggest that Sro9p is a new cytoplasmic factor involved in the organization of actin filaments.

scholarly journals Evidence for myosin motors on organelles in squid axoplasm

1993 ◽  
Vol 90 (23) ◽  
pp. 11252-11256 ◽  
Author(s):  
E L Bearer ◽  
J A DeGiorgis ◽  
R A Bodner ◽  
A W Kao ◽  
T S Reese
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Atpase Activity ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Rich Source ◽  
Organelle Transport ◽  
Immunogold Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cortical Actin ◽  
Western Blots ◽  
Actin Bundles ◽  
Myosin Motors

Squid axoplasm has proved a rich source for the identification of motors involved in organelle transport. Recently, squid axoplasmic organelles have been shown to move on invisible tracks that are sensitive to cytochalasin, suggesting that these tracks are actin filaments. Here, an assay is described that permits observation of organelles moving on unipolar actin bundles. This assay is used to demonstrate that axoplasmic organelles move on actin filaments in the barbed-end direction, suggesting the presence of a myosin motor on axoplasmic organelles. Indeed, axoplasm contains actin-dependent ATPase activity, and a pan-myosin antibody recognized at least four bands in Western blots of axoplasm. An approximately 235-kDa band copurified in sucrose gradients with KI-extracted axoplasmic organelles, and the myosin antibody stained the organelle surfaces by immunogold electron microscopy. The myosin is present on the surface of at least some axoplasmic organelles and thus may be involved in their transport through the axoplasm, their movement through the cortical actin in the synapse, or some other aspect of axonal function.

Electron Microscopy of Cytoplasmic Contractile Proteins

1978 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 606-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.D. Pollard ◽  
P. Maupin
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Uranyl Acetate ◽  
Contractile Proteins ◽  
Dimensional Structure ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Cytoplasmic Matrix ◽  
Computer Image Processing ◽  
Nonmuscle Cells

In this paper we review some of the contributions that electron microscopy has made to the analysis of actin and myosin from nonmuscle cells. We place particular emphasis upon the limitations of the ultrastructural techniques used to study these cytoplasmic contractile proteins, because it is not widely recognized how difficult it is to preserve these elements of the cytoplasmic matrix for electron microscopy. The structure of actin filaments is well preserved for electron microscope observation by negative staining with uranyl acetate (Figure 1). In fact, to a resolution of about 3nm the three-dimensional structure of actin filaments determined by computer image processing of electron micrographs of negatively stained specimens (Moore et al., 1970) is indistinguishable from the structure revealed by X-ray diffraction of living muscle.

Modification of Pineal Ultrastructure by Exogenous Hormones

1967 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 170-171
Author(s):  
R. A. Turner ◽  
A. E. Rodin ◽  
D. K. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Estradiol Benzoate ◽  
Female Rats ◽  
List Type ◽  
Type Number ◽  
Pregnant Rats ◽  
Gonadal Atrophy ◽  
Pineal Ultrastructure

There have been many reports which establish a relationship between the pineal and sexual structures, including gonadal hypertrophy after pinealectomy, and gonadal atrophy after injection of pineal homogenates or of melatonin. In order to further delineate this relationship the pineals from 5 groups of female rats were studied by electron microscopy:ControlsPregnant ratsAfter 4 weekly injections of 0.1 mg. estradiol benzoate.After 8 daily injections of 150 mcgm. melatonin (pineal hormone).After 8 daily injections of 3 mg. serotonin (melatonin precursor).No ultrastructural differences were evident between the control, and the pregnancy and melatonin groups. However, the estradiol injected animals exhibited a marked increase in the amount and size of rough endoplasmic reticulum within the pineal cells.

Copper Localization in Cirrhotic Rat Liver by Scanning Electron Microscopy

1969 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 38-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Russ ◽  
E. McNatt
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Copper Acetate ◽  
Lead Citrate ◽  
Dense Bodies ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Electron Mode ◽  
Scanning Electron

In order to study the retention of copper in cirrhotic liver, rats were made cirrhotic by carbon tetrachloride inhalation twice weekly for three months and fed 0.2% copper acetate ad libidum in drinking water for one month. The liver tissue was fixed in osmium, sectioned approximately 2000 Å thick, and stained with lead citrate. The section was examined in a scanning electron microscope (JEOLCO JSM-2) in the transmission electron mode.Figure 1 shows a typical area that includes a red blood cell in a sinusoid, a disse, and a portion of the cytoplasm of a hepatocyte which contains several mitochondria, peribiliary dense bodies, glycogen granules, and endoplasmic reticulum.

Morphological and biochemical analyses of changes in rat hepatocytes related to wine and ethanol consumption

1984 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 232-233
Author(s):  
S.M. Geyer ◽  
C.L. Mendenhall ◽  
J.T. Hung ◽  
E.L. Cardell ◽  
R.L. Drake ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Enzyme Activity ◽  
Malic Enzyme ◽  
Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Rat Hepatocytes ◽  
Mature Male ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Malic Enzyme Activity ◽  
Biochemical Analyses

Thirty-three mature male Holtzman rats were randomly placed in 3 treatment groups: Controls (C); Ethanolics (E); and Wine drinkers (W). The animals were fed synthetic diets (Lieber type) with ethanol or wine substituted isocalorically for carbohydrates in the diet of E and W groups, respectively. W received a volume of wine which provided the same gram quantity of alcohol consumed by E. The animals were sacrificed by decapitation after 6 weeks and the livers processed for quantitative triglycerides (T3), proteins, malic enzyme activity (MEA), light microscopy (LM) and electron microscopy (EM). Morphometric analysis of randomly selected LM and EM micrographs was performed to determine organellar changes in centrilobular (CV) and periportal (PV) regions of the liver. This analysis (Table 1) showed that hepatocytes from E were larger than those in C and W groups. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum decreased in E and increased in W compared to C values.

Triple Fixation For Electron Microscopy

1968 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 90-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Hayat
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Electron Beam ◽  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Myelin Sheath ◽  
Good Deal ◽  
Granular Structure ◽  
Oxidizing Agent ◽  
Fixation Technique ◽  
Large Clusters

Potassium permanganate has been successfully employed to study membranous structures such as endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi, plastids, plasma membrane and myelin sheath. Since KMnO4 is a strong oxidizing agent, deposition of manganese or its oxides account for some of the observed contrast in the lipoprotein membranes, but a good deal of it is due to the removal of background proteins either by dehydration agents or by volatalization under the electron beam. Tissues fixed with KMnO4 exhibit somewhat granular structure because of the deposition of large clusters of stain molecules. The gross arrangement of membranes can also be modified. Since the aim of a good fixation technique is to preserve satisfactorily the cell as a whole and not the best preservation of only a small part of it, a combination of a mixture of glutaraldehyde and acrolein to obtain general preservation and KMnO4 to enhance contrast was employed to fix plant embryos, green algae and fungi.

Structure of Myosin Subfragment-1 from Electron Microscopy and Crystallography

1988 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 156-157
Author(s):  
Donald A. Winkelmann
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Molecular Weight ◽  
Actin Filaments ◽  
Light Chains ◽  
Myosin Filament ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Heavy Chains ◽  
Myosin Subfragment ◽  
Myosin Subfragment 1 ◽  
Globular Head

The primary role of the interaction of actin and myosin is the generation of force and motion as a direct consequence of the cyclic interaction of myosin crossbridges with actin filaments. Myosin is composed of six polypeptides: two heavy chains of molecular weight 220,000 daltons and two pairs of light chains of molecular weight 17,000-23,000. The C-terminal portions of the myosin heavy chains associate to form an α-helical coiled-coil rod which is responsible for myosin filament formation. The N-terminal portion of each heavy chain associates with two different light chains to form a globular head that binds actin and hydrolyses ATP. Myosin can be fragmented by limited proteolysis into several structural and functional domains. It has recently been demonstrated using an in vitro movement assay that the globular head domain, subfragment-1, is sufficient to cause sliding movement of actin filaments.The discovery of conditions for crystallization of the myosin subfragment-1 (S1) has led to a systematic analysis of S1 structure by x-ray crystallography and electron microscopy. Image analysis of electron micrographs of thin sections of small S1 crystals has been used to determine the structure of S1 in the crystal lattice.

Image quality vs data obtainment in biological electron microscopy

1986 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 42-43
Author(s):  
J. E. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Endoplasmic Reticulum ◽  
Electron Beam ◽  
Image Quality ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Fluorescent Screen ◽  
Embedding Medium

In the early years of biological electron microscopy, scientists had their hands full attempting to describe the cellular microcosm that was suddenly before them on the fluorescent screen. Mitochondria, Golgi, endoplasmic reticulum, and other myriad organelles were being examined, micrographed, and documented in the literature. A major problem of that early period was the development of methods to cut sections thin enough to study under the electron beam. A microtome designed in 1943 moved the specimen toward a rotary “Cyclone” knife revolving at 12,500 RPM, or 1000 times as fast as an ordinary microtome. It was claimed that no embedding medium was necessary or that soft embedding media could be used. Collecting the sections thus cut sounded a little precarious: “The 0.1 micron sections cut with the high speed knife fly out at a tangent and are dispersed in the air. They may be collected... on... screens held near the knife“.

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