scholarly journals The cdc25 homologue twine is required for only some aspects of the entry into meiosis in Drosophila

1993 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 1035-1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. White-Cooper ◽  
L. Alphey ◽  
D.M. Glover

The twineHB5 mutation prevents spindle formation during the entry into meiosis in Drosophila males, but chromosome condensation and nuclear envelope breakdown both still occur. This suggests the possibility that this particular cdc25 homologue is required to activate a p34cdc2 kinase required for only some of the events of this G2-M transition. In contrast, meiotic spindles do form in twineHB5 females, although these appear abnormal. However, the female meiotic divisions do not arrest at metaphase I as in wild type, but continue repeatedly, leading to gross non-disjunction. Small chromatin masses, corresponding in size to the fourth chromosomes, often segregate properly to the spindle poles. These can persist into the embryos derived from twineHB5 females, where they appear to participate in mitotic divisions on thin spindles. In addition, these embryos contain a small number of large chromatin masses that are not associated with spindles.

1998 ◽  
Vol 111 (23) ◽  
pp. 3507-3515 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Chan ◽  
W.Z. Cande

To understand how the meiotic spindle is formed and maintained in higher plants, we studied the organization of microtubule arrays in wild-type maize meiocytes and three maize meiotic mutants, desynaptic1 (dsy1), desynaptic2 (dsy2), and absence of first division (afd). All three meiotic mutations have abnormal chromosome pairing and produce univalents by diakinesis. Using these three mutants, we investigated how the absence of paired homologous chromosomes affects the assembly and maintenance of the meiotic spindle. Before nuclear envelope breakdown, in wild-type meiocytes, there were no bipolar microtubule arrays. Instead, these structures formed after nuclear envelope breakdown and were associated with the chromosomes. The presence of univalent chromosomes in dsy1, dsy2, and afd meiocytes and of unpaired sister chromatids in the afd meiocytes did not affect the formation of bipolar spindles. However, alignment of chromosomes on the metaphase plate and subsequent anaphase chromosome segregation were perturbed. We propose a model for spindle formation in maize meiocytes in which microtubules initially appear around the chromosomes during prometaphase and then the microtubules self-organize. However, this process does not require paired kinetochores to establish spindle bipolarity.


1985 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 518-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J Lohka ◽  
J L Maller

Incubation of demembranated sperm chromatin in cytoplasmic extracts of unfertilized Xenopus laevis eggs resulted in nuclear envelope assembly, chromosome decondensation, and sperm pronuclear formation. In contrast, egg extracts made with EGTA-containing buffers induced the sperm chromatin to form chromosomes or irregularly shaped clumps of chromatin that were incorporated into bipolar or multipolar spindles. The 150,000 g supernatants of the EGTA extracts could not alone support these changes in incubated nuclei. However, these supernatants induced not only chromosome condensation and spindle formation, but also nuclear envelope breakdown when added to sperm pronuclei or isolated Xenopus liver or brain nuclei that were incubated in extracts made without EGTA. Similar changes were induced by partially purified preparations of maturation-promoting factor. The addition of calcium chloride to extracts containing condensed chromosomes and spindles caused dissolution of the spindles, decondensation of the chromosomes, and re-formation of interphase nuclei. These results indicate that nuclear envelope breakdown, chromosome condensation, and spindle assembly, as well as the regulation of these processes by Ca2+-sensitive cytoplasmic components, can be studied in vitro using extracts of amphibian eggs.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Bestul ◽  
Zulin Yu ◽  
Jay R. Unruh ◽  
Sue L. Jaspersen

AbstractProper mitotic progression in Schizosaccharomyces pombe requires partial nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD) and insertion of the spindle pole body (SPB – yeast centrosome) to build the mitotic spindle. Linkage of the centromere to the SPB is vital to this process, but why that linkage is important is not well understood. Utilizing high-resolution structured illumination microscopy (SIM), we show that the conserved SUNprotein Sad1 and other SPB proteins redistribute during mitosis to form a ring complex around SPBs, which is a precursor for NEBD and spindle formation. Although the Polo kinase Plo1 is not necessary for Sad1 redistribution, it localizes to the SPB region connected to the centromere, and its activity is vital for SPB ring protein redistribution and for complete NEBD to allow for SPB insertion. Our results lead to a model in which centromere linkage to the SPB drives redistribution of Sad1 and Plo1 activation that in turn facilitate NEBD and spindle formation through building of an SPB ring structure.SummaryNuclear envelope breakdown is necessary for fission yeast cells to go through mitosis. Bestul et al. show that the SUN protein, Sad1, is vital in carrying out this breakdown and is regulated by the centromere and Polo kinase.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 760-768
Author(s):  
M J Lohka ◽  
J L Kyes ◽  
J L Maller

Cytoplasmic extracts of metaphase (M-phase)-arrested Xenopus laevis eggs support nuclear envelope breakdown and chromosome condensation in vitro. Induction of nuclear breakdown is inhibited by AMPP(NH)P, a nonhydrolyzable ATP analog, but not by ATP or gamma-S-ATP, a hydrolyzable ATP analog, suggesting that protein phosphorylation may be required for M-phase nuclear events in vitro. By addition of [gamma-32P]ATP, we have identified in cytoplasmic extracts and in intact eggs at least six phosphoproteins that are present during M-phase but absent in G1/S-phase. These phosphoproteins also appear in response to partially purified preparations of maturation-promoting factor. A subset of these proteins are thiophosphorylated by gamma-S-ATP under conditions that promote nuclear envelope breakdown and chromosome condensation. Each of these proteins is phosphorylated on serine and threonine, and one, a 42-kilodalton protein, is also phosphorylated on tyrosine both in extracts and in intact eggs. These results indicate that activation of protein kinases accounts for at least part of the increased phosphorylation in M-phase and that both protein-serine-threonine kinases and protein-tyrosine kinases may play a role in controlling M-phase nuclear behavior.


2000 ◽  
Vol 2 (9) ◽  
pp. 609-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina R. Yu ◽  
Robert B. Saint ◽  
William Sullivan

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 3089-3099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth K. Lee ◽  
Yosef Gruenbaum ◽  
Perah Spann ◽  
Jun Liu ◽  
Katherine L. Wilson

Emerin, MAN1, and LAP2 are integral membrane proteins of the vertebrate nuclear envelope. They share a 43-residue N-terminal motif termed the LEM domain. We found three putative LEM domain genes inCaenorhabditis elegans, designated emr-1,lem-2, and lem-3. We analyzedemr-l, which encodes Ce-emerin, andlem-2, which encodes Ce-MAN1. Ce-emerin and Ce-MAN1 migrate on SDS-PAGE as 17- and 52-kDa proteins, respectively. Based on their biochemical extraction properties and immunolocalization, both Ce-emerin and Ce-MAN1 are integral membrane proteins localized at the nuclear envelope. We used antibodies against Ce-MAN1, Ce-emerin, nucleoporins, and Ce-lamin to determine the timing of nuclear envelope breakdown during mitosis in C. elegans. The C. elegans nuclear envelope disassembles very late compared with vertebrates and Drosophila. The nuclear membranes remained intact everywhere except near spindle poles during metaphase and early anaphase, fully disassembling only during mid-late anaphase. Disassembly of pore complexes, and to a lesser extent the lamina, depended on embryo age: pore complexes were absent during metaphase in >30-cell embryos but existed until anaphase in 2- to 24-cell embryos. Intranuclear mRNA splicing factors disassembled after prophase. The timing of nuclear disassembly in C. elegans is novel and may reflect its evolutionary position between unicellular and more complex eukaryotes.


2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
William T. Silkworth ◽  
Isaac K. Nardi ◽  
Raja Paul ◽  
Alex Mogilner ◽  
Daniela Cimini

Spindle assembly, establishment of kinetochore attachment, and sister chromatid separation must occur during mitosis in a highly coordinated fashion to ensure accurate chromosome segregation. In most vertebrate cells, the nuclear envelope must break down to allow interaction between microtubules of the mitotic spindle and the kinetochores. It was previously shown that nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB) is not coordinated with centrosome separation and that centrosome separation can be either complete at the time of NEB or can be completed after NEB. In this study, we investigated whether the timing of centrosome separation affects subsequent mitotic events such as establishment of kinetochore attachment or chromosome segregation. We used a combination of experimental and computational approaches to investigate kinetochore attachment and chromosome segregation in cells with complete versus incomplete spindle pole separation at NEB. We found that cells with incomplete spindle pole separation exhibit higher rates of kinetochore misattachments and chromosome missegregation than cells that complete centrosome separation before NEB. Moreover, our mathematical model showed that two spindle poles in close proximity do not “search” the entire cellular space, leading to formation of large numbers of syntelic attachments, which can be an intermediate stage in the formation of merotelic kinetochores.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 760-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
M J Lohka ◽  
J L Kyes ◽  
J L Maller

Cytoplasmic extracts of metaphase (M-phase)-arrested Xenopus laevis eggs support nuclear envelope breakdown and chromosome condensation in vitro. Induction of nuclear breakdown is inhibited by AMPP(NH)P, a nonhydrolyzable ATP analog, but not by ATP or gamma-S-ATP, a hydrolyzable ATP analog, suggesting that protein phosphorylation may be required for M-phase nuclear events in vitro. By addition of [gamma-32P]ATP, we have identified in cytoplasmic extracts and in intact eggs at least six phosphoproteins that are present during M-phase but absent in G1/S-phase. These phosphoproteins also appear in response to partially purified preparations of maturation-promoting factor. A subset of these proteins are thiophosphorylated by gamma-S-ATP under conditions that promote nuclear envelope breakdown and chromosome condensation. Each of these proteins is phosphorylated on serine and threonine, and one, a 42-kilodalton protein, is also phosphorylated on tyrosine both in extracts and in intact eggs. These results indicate that activation of protein kinases accounts for at least part of the increased phosphorylation in M-phase and that both protein-serine-threonine kinases and protein-tyrosine kinases may play a role in controlling M-phase nuclear behavior.


1994 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Clark-Maguire ◽  
P E Mains

Genetic evidence suggests that the product of the mei-1 gene of Caenorhabditis elegans is specifically required for meiosis in the female germline. Loss-of-function mei-1 mutations block meiotic spindle formation while a gain-of-function allele instead results in spindle defects during the early mitotic cleavages. In this report, we use immunocytochemistry to examine the localization of the mei-1 product in wild-type and mutant embryos. During metaphase of meiosis I in wild-type embryos, mei-1 protein was found throughout the spindle but was more concentrated toward the poles. At telophase I, mei-1 product colocalized with the chromatin at the spindle poles. The pattern was repeated during meiosis II but no mei-1 product was visible during the subsequent mitotic cleavages. The mei-1 gain-of-function allele resulted in ectopic mei-1 staining in the centers of the microtubule-organizing centers during interphase and in the spindles during the early cleavages. This aberrant localization is probably responsible for the poorly formed and misoriented cleavage spindles characteristic of the mutation. We also examined the localization of mei-1(+) product in the presence of mutations of genes that genetically interact with mei-1 alleles. mei-2 is apparently required to localize mei-1 product to the spindle during meiosis while mel-26 acts as a postmeiotic inhibitor. We conclude that mei-1 encodes a novel spindle component, one that is specialized for the acentriolar meiotic spindles unique to female meiosis. The genes mei-2 and mel-26 are part of a regulatory network that confines mei-1 activity to meiosis.


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