Document Detail


A cytoplasmic clock with the same period as the division cycle in Xenopus eggs.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  6928638     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
In most species the cell cycle is arrested in the unfertilized egg. After fertilization the cell cycle is reestablished and a rapid series of cleavages ensues. Preceding the first cleavage in Xenopus the egg undergoes a contraction of its cortex, called the "surface contraction wave," which can be visualized by time-lapse cinematography. This wave of contraction is propagated in a circular manner from the animal pole to the equator. We have found that eggs prevented from cleaving by treatment with antimitotic drugs undergo a sequence of periodic surface contraction waves timed with the cleavage cycle in untreated eggs. In addition, artificially activated eggs, which fail to cleave presumably for lack of a functioning centriole, undergo the same periodic contractions. No nuclear material is required for the periodic waves because a separated egg fragment, produced by constricting a fertilized egg, still undergoes contraction waves with the same period as the cleaving nucleated fragment. These results demonstrate that some expression of the cell cycle persists in the absence of any nuclear material or centrioles, suggesting to us that a biological clock exists in the cytoplasm or cortex of vertebrate eggs, which may be involved in timing the cell cycle.
Authors:
K Hara; P Tydeman; M Kirschner
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America     Volume:  77     ISSN:  0027-8424     ISO Abbreviation:  Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.     Publication Date:  1980 Jan 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1980-05-23     Completed Date:  1980-05-23     Revised Date:  2009-11-18    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7505876     Medline TA:  Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  462-6     Citation Subset:  IM    
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animals
Biological Clocks*
Cell Cycle*
Cell Division
Cell Nucleus / physiology
Colchicine / pharmacology
Cytoplasm / physiology*
Female
Ovum / physiology*,  ultrastructure
Periodicity
Vinblastine / pharmacology
Xenopus
Zygote / cytology*
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
64-86-8/Colchicine; 865-21-4/Vinblastine
Comments/Corrections

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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