Do growth and cell division rates determine cell size in multicellular organisms?

2000 ◽  
Vol 113 (17) ◽  
pp. 2927-2934 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.M. Coelho ◽  
S.J. Leevers
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Cell Size ◽  
Imaginal Disc ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Organ Growth ◽  
Unicellular Eukaryotes ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Dividing Cells ◽  
Phosphoinositide 3 Kinase ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

Studies in yeast have provided some clues to how cell size might be determined in unicellular eukaryotes; yet little attention has been paid to this issue in multicellular organisms. Reproducible cell sizes might be achieved in the dividing cells of multicellular organisms by the coordination of growth with cell division. Recently, mutations in genes encoding homologues of components of the mammalian insulin/phosphoinositide 3-kinase signalling pathway have been shown to affect organ growth and cell size during Drosophila melanogaster imaginal disc development. The data suggest that signalling through this pathway alters cell size because it primarily affects the growth of these organs (i.e. their increase in mass) and does not have a proportional impact on cell division. These observations are in keeping with the hypothesis that growth and cell division are regulated independently, and that cell size is just a consequence of the rate at which tissues grow and the cells within them divide. However, signalling through this pathway can affect cell cycle phasing and at least influence cell division. These interactions may provide a means of coordinating growth and cell division, such that cells divide only when they are above a minimum size.

scholarly journals Cosegregation of asymmetric features during cell division

Open Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 210116
Author(s):  
Silje Anda ◽  
Erik Boye ◽  
Kay Oliver Schink ◽  
Beata Grallert
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Schizosaccharomyces Pombe ◽  
Spindle Pole Body ◽  
Spindle Pole ◽  
Unicellular Eukaryote ◽  
Unicellular Eukaryotes ◽  
Pole Body ◽  
Cellular Asymmetry ◽  
Multicellular Organisms ◽  
Chromosome I

Cellular asymmetry plays a major role in the ageing and evolution of multicellular organisms. However, it remains unknown how the cell distinguishes ‘old’ from ‘new’ and whether asymmetry is an attribute of highly specialized cells or a feature inherent in all cells. Here, we investigate the segregation of three asymmetric features: old and new DNA, the spindle pole body (SPB, the centrosome analogue) and the old and new cell ends, using a simple unicellular eukaryote, Schizosaccharomyces pombe . To our knowledge, this is the first study exploring three asymmetric features in the same cells. We show that of the three chromosomes of S. pombe , chromosome I containing the new parental strand, preferentially segregated to the cells inheriting the old cell end. Furthermore, the new SPB also preferentially segregated to the cells inheriting the old end. Our results suggest that the ability to distinguish ‘old’ from ‘new’ and to segregate DNA asymmetrically are inherent features even in simple unicellular eukaryotes.

scholarly journals Regulation of imaginal disc cell size, cell number and organ size by Drosophila class IA phosphoinositide 3-kinase and its adaptor

1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (18) ◽  
pp. 1019-1029 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Weinkove ◽  
Thomas P. Neufeld ◽  
Thomas Twardzik ◽  
Michael D. Waterfield ◽  
Sally J. Leevers
Keyword(s):  
Cell Size ◽  
Imaginal Disc ◽  
Cell Number ◽  
Organ Size ◽  
Disc Cell ◽  
Phosphoinositide 3 Kinase

scholarly journals Plasmolysis during the division cycle of Escherichia coli

1982 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 479-484
Author(s):  
A J Olijhoek ◽  
C G Van Eden ◽  
F J Trueba ◽  
E Pas ◽  
N Nanninga
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Cell Membrane ◽  
Osmotic Stress ◽  
Cell Size ◽  
Electron Micrographs ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Dividing Cells ◽  
Membrane Cell

Cells of Escherichia coli were plasmolyzed with sucrose. They were classified according to length by way of electron micrographs taken from samples prepared by agar filtration. The percentage of plasmolyzed cells increased about two- and threefold between mean cell sizes of newborn and separating cells. However, dividing cells were less frequently plasmolyzed than nondividing cells of the same length class. Analysis of cell halves (prospective daughters) in dividing cells showed that they behaved as independent cellular units with respect to plasmolysis. The results indicate that compressibility of the protoplast (given a certain plasmolysis space) is inversely related to cell size. That a dividing cell does not react as one osmotic compartment to osmotic stress may suggest that cell size-dependent strength of the cell membrane-cell wall association, rather than variation in turgor, plays a role during the cell division cycle.

scholarly journals Interdependent YpsA- and YfhS-Mediated Cell Division and Cell Size Phenotypes in Bacillus subtilis

mSphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S. Brzozowski ◽  
Brooke R. Tomlinson ◽  
Michael D. Sacco ◽  
Judy J. Chen ◽  
Anika N. Ali ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Subtilis ◽  
Cell Division ◽  
Cell Size ◽  
Unknown Function ◽  
Suppressor Mutation ◽  
Gram Positive ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Suppressor Mutations ◽  
Extragenic Suppressor ◽  
Cell Division Inhibition

ABSTRACT Although many bacterial cell division factors have been uncovered over the years, evidence from recent studies points to the existence of yet-to-be-discovered factors involved in cell division regulation. Thus, it is important to identify factors and conditions that regulate cell division to obtain a better understanding of this fundamental biological process. We recently reported that in the Gram-positive organisms Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, increased production of YpsA resulted in cell division inhibition. In this study, we isolated spontaneous suppressor mutations to uncover critical residues of YpsA and the pathways through which YpsA may exert its function. Using this technique, we were able to isolate four unique intragenic suppressor mutations in ypsA (E55D, P79L, R111P, and G132E) that rendered the mutated YpsA nontoxic upon overproduction. We also isolated an extragenic suppressor mutation in yfhS, a gene that encodes a protein of unknown function. Subsequent analysis confirmed that cells lacking yfhS were unable to undergo filamentation in response to YpsA overproduction. We also serendipitously discovered that YfhS may play a role in cell size regulation. Finally, we provide evidence showing a mechanistic link between YpsA and YfhS. IMPORTANCE Bacillus subtilis is a rod-shaped Gram-positive model organism. The factors fundamental to the maintenance of cell shape and cell division are of major interest. We show that increased expression of ypsA results in cell division inhibition and impairment of colony formation on solid medium. Colonies that do arise possess compensatory suppressor mutations. We have isolated multiple intragenic (within ypsA) mutants and an extragenic suppressor mutant. Further analysis of the extragenic suppressor mutation led to a protein of unknown function, YfhS, which appears to play a role in regulating cell size. In addition to confirming that the cell division phenotype associated with YpsA is disrupted in a yfhS-null strain, we also discovered that the cell size phenotype of the yfhS knockout mutant is abolished in a strain that also lacks ypsA. This highlights a potential mechanistic link between these two proteins; however, the underlying molecular mechanism remains to be elucidated.

scholarly journals Genes Required for Aerial Growth, Cell Division, and Chromosome Segregation Are Targets of WhiA before Sporulation in Streptomyces venezuelae

mBio ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Bush ◽  
Maureen J. Bibb ◽  
Govind Chandra ◽  
Kim C. Findlay ◽  
Mark J. Buttner
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Regulatory Networks ◽  
Liquid Culture ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Streptomyces Venezuelae ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Master Regulators ◽  
Aerial Growth ◽  
Genes Encoding

ABSTRACTWhiA is a highly unusual transcriptional regulator related to a family of eukaryotic homing endonucleases. WhiA is required for sporulation in the filamentous bacteriumStreptomyces, but WhiA homologues of unknown function are also found throughout the Gram-positive bacteria. To better understand the role of WhiA inStreptomycesdevelopment and its function as a transcription factor, we identified the WhiA regulon through a combination of chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) and microarray transcriptional profiling, exploiting a new model organism for the genus,Streptomyces venezuelae, which sporulates in liquid culture. The regulon encompasses ~240 transcription units, and WhiA appears to function almost equally as an activator and as a repressor. Bioinformatic analysis of the upstream regions of the complete regulon, combined with DNase I footprinting, identified a short but highly conserved asymmetric sequence, GACAC, associated with the majority of WhiA targets. Construction of a null mutant showed thatwhiAis required for the initiation of sporulation septation and chromosome segregation inS. venezuelae, and several genes encoding key proteins of theStreptomycescell division machinery, such asftsZ,ftsW, andftsK, were found to be directly activated by WhiA during development. Several other genes encoding proteins with important roles in development were also identified as WhiA targets, including the sporulation-specific sigma factor σWhiGand the diguanylate cyclase CdgB. Cell division is tightly coordinated with the orderly arrest of apical growth in the sporogenic cell, andfilP, encoding a key component of the polarisome that directs apical growth, is a direct target for WhiA-mediated repression during sporulation.IMPORTANCESince the initial identification of the genetic loci required forStreptomycesdevelopment, all of thebldandwhidevelopmental master regulators have been cloned and characterized, and significant progress has been made toward understanding the cell biological processes that drive morphogenesis. A major challenge now is to connect the cell biological processes and the developmental master regulators by dissecting the regulatory networks that link the two. Studies of these regulatory networks have been greatly facilitated by the recent introduction ofStreptomyces venezuelaeas a new model system for the genus, a species that sporulates in liquid culture. Taking advantage ofS. venezuelae, we have characterized the regulon of genes directly under the control of one of these master regulators, WhiA. Our results implicate WhiA in the direct regulation of key steps in sporulation, including the cessation of aerial growth, the initiation of cell division, and chromosome segregation.

scholarly journals Cytokinesis and Midzone Microtubule Organization inCaenorhabditis elegans Require the Kinesin-like Protein ZEN-4

1998 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 2037-2049 ◽  
Author(s):  
William B. Raich ◽  
Adrienne N. Moran ◽  
Joel H. Rothman ◽  
Jeff Hardin
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Null Allele ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Equatorial Region ◽  
Microtubule Organization ◽  
Dividing Cells ◽  
Spindle Midzone ◽  
Cross Links ◽  
Complete Cell

Members of the MKLP1 subfamily of kinesin motor proteins localize to the equatorial region of the spindle midzone and are capable of bundling antiparallel microtubules in vitro. Despite these intriguing characteristics, it is unclear what role these kinesins play in dividing cells, particularly within the context of a developing embryo. Here, we report the identification of a null allele ofzen-4, an MKLP1 homologue in the nematodeCaenorhabditis elegans, and demonstrate that ZEN-4 is essential for cytokinesis. Embryos deprived of ZEN-4 form multinucleate single-celled embryos as they continue to cycle through mitosis but fail to complete cell division. Initiation of the cytokinetic furrow occurs at the normal time and place, but furrow propagation halts prematurely. Time-lapse recordings and microtubule staining reveal that the cytokinesis defect is preceded by the dissociation of the midzone microtubules. We show that ZEN-4 protein localizes to the spindle midzone during anaphase and persists at the midbody region throughout cytokinesis. We propose that ZEN-4 directly cross-links the midzone microtubules and suggest that these microtubules are required for the completion of cytokinesis.

fumble Encodes a Pantothenate Kinase Homolog Required for Proper Mitosis and Meiosis in Drosophila melanogaster

Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 157 (3) ◽  
pp. 1267-1276
Author(s):  
Katayoun Afshar ◽  
Pierre Gönczy ◽  
Stephen DiNardo ◽  
Steven A Wasserman
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Chromosome Segregation ◽  
Cell Division Cycle ◽  
Protein Isoforms ◽  
Pantothenate Kinase ◽  
Male Germline ◽  
Dividing Cells ◽  
Mutant Cells ◽  
Mitosis And Meiosis

Abstract A number of fundamental processes comprise the cell division cycle, including spindle formation, chromosome segregation, and cytokinesis. Our current understanding of these processes has benefited from the isolation and analysis of mutants, with the meiotic divisions in the male germline of Drosophila being particularly well suited to the identification of the required genes. We show here that the fumble (fbl) gene is required for cell division in Drosophila. We find that dividing cells in fbl-deficient testes exhibit abnormalities in bipolar spindle organization, chromosome segregation, and contractile ring formation. Cytological analysis of larval neuroblasts from null mutants reveals a reduced mitotic index and the presence of polyploid cells. Molecular analysis demonstrates that fbl encodes three protein isoforms, all of which contain a domain with high similarity to the pantothenate kinases of A. nidulans and mouse. The largest Fumble isoform is dispersed in the cytoplasm during interphase, concentrates around the spindle at metaphase, and localizes to the spindle midbody at telophase. During early embryonic development, the protein localizes to areas of membrane deposition and/or rearrangement, such as the metaphase and cellularization furrows. Given the role of pantothenate kinase in production of Coenzyme A and in phospholipid biosynthesis, this pattern of localization is suggestive of a role for fbl in membrane synthesis. We propose that abnormalities in synthesis and redistribution of membranous structures during the cell division cycle underlie the cell division defects in fbl mutant cells.

Freeze-fracture analysis of membrane events during early neogenesis of cilia in Tetrahymena: changes in fairy-ring morphology and membrane topography

1983 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-156
Author(s):  
L.A. Hufnagel
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Membrane Structure ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Fracture Analysis ◽  
Basal Bodies ◽  
Membrane Topography ◽  
Fairy Rings ◽  
Dividing Cells ◽  
Cortical System ◽  
Membrane Particle

A freeze-fracture analysis of early neogenesis of somatic and oral cilia of Tetrahymena was conducted using exponentially grown cultures and also cells induced to undergo oral reorganization. In this report, presumptive ciliary domains (PCDs), sites of future outgrowth of somatic cilia, are identified and their membrane structure is described in detail. The fairy ring, an array of membrane particles that occurs within the PCD and appears to be a precursor of the ciliary necklace, is described. A sequence of early stages in the formation of the ciliary necklace of somatic cilia is deduced from topographical information and membrane particle arrangements and numbers. Evidence is presented that basal bodies are seated at the cell surface prior to initiation of necklace assembly and a possible role for the basal body in necklace assembly is suggested. In dividing cells, new oral cilia grow out prior to orientation of cilia-parasomal sac complexes relative to cell axes. In dividing cells and during oral reorganization, new cilia also develop prior to their alignment into membranelles. Thus, growth of cilia is independent of their spatial orientation. Fairy rings were not observed during oral reorganization. During cell division, proliferation of new cilia is accompanied by the formation of a network of junctions between a cortical system of membranous cisternae, the cortical ‘alveoli’. These interalveolar junctions may serve as tracks for early positioning and orientation of new oral basal bodies.

discordia mutations specifically misorient asymmetric cell divisions during development of the maize leaf epidermis

Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (20) ◽  
pp. 4623-4633 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Gallagher ◽  
L.G. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Cell Division ◽  
Preprophase Band ◽  
Cytochalasin D ◽  
Leaf Epidermis ◽  
Asymmetric Cell Divisions ◽  
Maize Leaf ◽  
Cell Divisions ◽  
Cytoskeletal Structure ◽  
Dividing Cells ◽  
Preprophase Bands

In plant cells, cytokinesis depends on a cytoskeletal structure called a phragmoplast, which directs the formation of a new cell wall between daughter nuclei after mitosis. The orientation of cell division depends on guidance of the phragmoplast during cytokinesis to a cortical site marked throughout prophase by another cytoskeletal structure called a preprophase band. Asymmetrically dividing cells become polarized and form asymmetric preprophase bands prior to mitosis; phragmoplasts are subsequently guided to these asymmetric cortical sites to form daughter cells of different shapes and/or sizes. Here we describe two new recessive mutations, discordia1 (dcd1) and discordia2 (dcd2), which disrupt the spatial regulation of cytokinesis during asymmetric cell divisions. Both mutations disrupt four classes of asymmetric cell divisions during the development of the maize leaf epidermis, without affecting the symmetric divisions through which most epidermal cells arise. The effects of dcd mutations on asymmetric cell division can be mimicked by cytochalasin D treatment, and divisions affected by dcd1 are hypersensitive to the effects of cytochalasin D. Analysis of actin and microtubule organization in these mutants showed no effect of either mutation on cell polarity, or on formation and localization of preprophase bands and spindles. In mutant cells, phragmoplasts in asymmetrically dividing cells are structurally normal and are initiated in the correct location, but often fail to move to the position formerly occupied by the preprophase band. We propose that dcd mutations disrupt an actin-dependent process necessary for the guidance of phragmoplasts during cytokinesis in asymmetrically dividing cells.

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