The shape of mitochondria and the number of mitochondrial nucleoids during the cell cycle of Euglena gracilis

1989 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-570
Author(s):  
YASUKO HAYASHI ◽  
KATSUMI UEDA

The shape of mitochondria and the number of mitochondrial nucleoids in Euglena cells were examined throughout the cell cycle by fluorescence microscopy. Both photoheterotrophic and heterotrophic cells contained a network of mitochondria that did not divide into fragments at any stage of the cell cycle. Mitochondrial nucleoids could be clearly detected in the mitochondria by staining with ethidium bromide and with DAPI. Half of the mitochondrial nucleoids entered each daughter cell during cytokinesis. Nucleoids in the newly produced daughter cells increased in number as the cells increased in size. The number of nucleoids reached double the initial value in cells at the stage just prior to mitosis. The total length of the mitochondrial net was proportional to the cell volume.

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco J Piña ◽  
Maho Niwa

Stress induced by cytoplasmic protein aggregates can have deleterious consequences for the cell, contributing to neurodegeneration and other diseases. Protein aggregates are also formed within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), although the fate of ER protein aggregates, specifically during cell division, is not well understood. By simultaneous visualization of both the ER itself and ER protein aggregates, we found that ER protein aggregates that induce ER stress are retained in the mother cell by activation of the ER Stress Surveillance (ERSU) pathway, which prevents inheritance of stressed ER. In contrast, under conditions of normal ER inheritance, ER protein aggregates can enter the daughter cell. Thus, whereas cytoplasmic protein aggregates are retained in the mother cell to protect the functional capacity of daughter cells, the fate of ER protein aggregates is determined by whether or not they activate the ERSU pathway to impede transmission of the cortical ER during the cell cycle.


1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 273-287
Author(s):  
K.K. Hjelm

The relative daughter cell volume (RDCV) values for Tetrahymena pyriformis were determined at division on live cells. It was found that the anterior cell is generally larger than the posterior cell, and that the RDCV values are distributed in groups 5–6% apart. The RDCV value was found to be independent of predivision cell volume, indicating that the mother cell is divided into proportional volumes. The cells seem, however, not to assess volume directly but rather a parameter related to the cell volume. Furthermore, the RDCV value was found to increase during cell division, so that the final value is not reached until actual separation of daughter cells. It is suggested that the division furrow is positioned so that the area of the cell surface lying between the old oral apparatus and the posterior pole of the cell is divided into equal parts. It is further suggested that several alternative values of the RDCV are possible, only one of which is expressed in each cell. The early division furrow is placed anteriorly to its final position, and its location is adjusted during cytokinesis.


1982 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. CRAIGIE ◽  
T. CAVALIER-SMITH

Chlamydomonas reinhardii divides by multiple fission to produce 2n daughter cells per division burst, where n is an integer. By separating predivision cells from synchronous cultures into fractions of differing mean cell volumes, and electronically measuring the numbers and volume distributions of the daughter cells produced by the subsequent division burst, we have shown that n is determined by the volume of the parent cell. Control of n can occur simply, if after every cell division the daughter cells monitor their volume and divide again if, and only if, their volume is greater than a fixed minimum value. In cultures synchronized by 12-h light/12-h dark cycles, the larger parent cells divide earlier in the dark period than do smaller cells. This has been shown by two independent methods: (1) by separating cells into different size fractions by Percoll density-gradient centrifugation and using the light microscope to see when they divide; and (2) by studying changes in the cell volume distribution of unfractioned cultures. Since daughter cells remain within the mother-cell wall for some hours after cell division, and cell division causes an overall swelling of the mother-cell wall, the timing of division can be determined electronically by measuring this increase in cell volume that occurs in the dark period in the absence of growth; we find that cells at the large end of the size distribution range undergo this swelling first, and are then followed by successively smaller size fractions. A simple model embodying a sizer followed by a timer gives a good quantitative fit to these data for 12-h light/12-h dark cycles if cell division occurs 12-h after attaining a critical volume of approximately 140 μm3. However, this simple model is called into question by our finding that alterations in the length of the light period alter the rate of progress towards division even of cells that have attained their critical volume. We discuss the relative roles of light and cell volume in the control of division timing in the Chlamydomonas cell cycle.


1996 ◽  
Vol 109 (2) ◽  
pp. 525-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Hird

The first division of the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo is unequal, generating daughter cells with distinct fates. The differences between the cells are believed to result from the partitioning of cytoplasmic determinants during the first cell cycle. Actin microfilaments play a critical, but poorly defined, role in this event. In this paper, the actin cortex in live embryos is studied during cytoplasmic localisation by fluorescently labelling microfilaments in oocytes and then using in vivo fluorescence microscopy to observe their behaviour. This reveals that there is a concerted movement of cortical actin to the anterior of the embryo at the time cytoplasmic localisation takes place. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that endogenous foci of F-actin are asymmetrically distributed following this event; these structures have previously been seen in fixed cortices. A model for the participation of the actin cytoskeleton in cytoplasmic localisation is presented based on these results.


1980 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-166
Author(s):  
M. Pellegrini

Ultrastructural changes of chloroplasts and mitochondria have been observed in synchronously growing cells of Euglena gracilis Z, under photoautotrophic conditions. Application of the serial section technique allows estimation of the number and volume of these organelles. Several 3-dimensional reconstructions reveal their shape and distribution throughout the cell cycle. In young cells 10 separate diskoid or branched chloroplasts are found. They show the typical lamellar structure of euglenoid chloroplasts. During the growth phase (light period), they enlarge and their volume doubles. Some of them branch out, so that 20 lobes are formed. Thylakoids grow longer without change in number. The pyrenoid persists only during the first half of this period. During the cell division phase (dark period), branched chloroplasts divide along 2 planes which are perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the thylakoid plane. All thylakoids are cut and their number does not change in the daughter chloroplasts. The plastidome volume constitutes 15–18% of the total cell volume over the entire life cycle. One of the most significant observations in this report is the presence of a single permanent mitochondrial reticulum during the whole cell cycle. This giant mitochondrion consists of an extremely branched network with delicate threads (0.4-0.6 micrometer thick) surrounding the chloroplasts, nucleus and reservoir. It extends throughout the cell. During the growth phase, it becomes gradually longer and doubles in volume. The degree of branching increases but the thickness of the threads remains constant. During the division phase, the mitochondrial elements appear more restricted (0.4 micrometer thick) and the reticulum becomes progressively partitioned into 2 daughter networks. At any time of the cell cycle, the chondriome volume is about 6% of the total cell volume. These results are discussed in comparison with numerous relevant papers on light and electron microscopy of animal and plant cells. They suggest that the descriptions of several authors on the plastidial cycle and the mitochondrial cycle in Euglena, both said to be characterized by alternate reticulate and fragmentary states, arise in part from questionable interpretation of random sections. It is evident that the form and distribution of organelles can be determined more precisely by serial sectioning.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajesh Ranjan ◽  
Jonathan Snedeker ◽  
Matthew Wooten ◽  
Carolina Chu ◽  
Sabrina Bracero ◽  
...  

AbstractStem cells undergo asymmetric division to produce both a self-renewing stem cell and a differentiating daughter cell. DuringDrosophilamale germline stem cell (GSC) asymmetric division, preexisting old histones H3 and H4 are enriched in the self-renewed stem daughter cell, whereas the newly synthesized H3 and H4 are enriched in the differentiating daughter cell. However, the biological consequences in the two daughter cells resulting from asymmetric histone inheritance remained to be elucidated. In this work, we track both old and new histones throughout GSC cell cycle using high spatial and temporal resolution microscopy. We find several unique features differentiating old versus new histone-enriched sister chromatids, including nucleosome density, chromosomal condensation, and H3 Ser10 phosphorylation. These distinct chromosomal features lead to their differential association with Cdc6, an essential component of the pre-replication complex, which subsequently contributes to asynchronous initiation of DNA replication in the two resulting daughter cells. Disruption of asymmetric histone inheritance abolishes both differential Cdc6 association and asynchronous S-phase entry, demonstrating that asymmetric histone acts upstream of these critical events during cell cycle progression. Furthermore, GSC defects are detected under these conditions, indicating a connection between histone inheritance, cell cycle progression and cell fate decision. Together, these studies reveal that cell cycle remodeling as a crucial biological ‘readout’ of asymmetric histone inheritance, which precedes and could lead to other well-known readouts such as differential gene expression. This work also enhances our understanding of asymmetric histone inheritance and epigenetic regulation in other stem cells or asymmetrically dividing cells in multicellular organisms.


2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (16) ◽  
pp. 2809-2820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Mazanka ◽  
Eric L. Weiss

Gene expression is restricted to specific times in cell division and differentiation through close control of both activation and inactivation of transcription. In budding yeast, strict spatiotemporal regulation of the transcription factor Ace2 ensures that it acts only once in a cell's lifetime: at the M-to-G1 transition in newborn daughter cells. The Ndr/LATS family kinase Cbk1, functioning in a system similar to metazoan hippo signaling pathways, activates Ace2 and drives its accumulation in daughter cell nuclei, but the mechanism of this transcription factor's inactivation is unknown. We found that Ace2's nuclear localization is maintained by continuous Cbk1 activity and that inhibition of the kinase leads to immediate loss of phosphorylation and export to the cytoplasm. Once exported, Ace2 cannot re-enter nuclei for the remainder of the cell cycle. Two separate mechanisms enforce Ace2's cytoplasmic sequestration: 1) phosphorylation of CDK consensus sites in Ace2 by the G1 CDKs Pho85 and Cdc28/CDK1 and 2) an unknown mechanism mediated by Pho85 that is independent of its kinase activity. Direct phosphorylation of CDK consensus sites is not necessary for Ace2's cytoplasmic retention, indicating that these mechanisms function redundantly. Overall, these findings show how sequential opposing kinases limit a daughter cell specific transcriptional program to a brief period during the cell cycle and suggest that CDKs may function as cytoplasmic sequestration factors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 201 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vic Norris

ABSTRACT It has been clear for over sixty years that the principal method whereby cells replicate and segregate their DNA is semiconservative. It is much less clear why it should be like this rather than, say, conservative. Recently, evidence has accumulated that supports the hypothesis that one of the functions of the cell cycle is to generate phenotypically different daughter cells, even in nondifferentiating bacteria such as Escherichia coli. Evidence has also accumulated that the bacterial phenotype is determined by the functioning of extended assemblies of macromolecules termed hyperstructures. One class of these hyperstructures is attached dynamically to a DNA strand by the coupling of transcription and translation. Previously, we proposed in the strand segregation model that one set of hyperstructures accompanies one parental strand into one daughter cell while another set of hyperstructures accompanies the other parental strand into the other daughter cell. This epigenetic mechanism results in daughter cells having different phenotypes. Here, I propose that one of the reasons why semiconservative replication has been selected is because it allows the generation of a population containing cells with very different growth rates even in steady-state conditions.


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