Microtubule array observed in the posterior ‐vegetal cortex during cytoplasmic and cortical reorganization of the ascidian egg

In this study, we invented a new reagent that improves the immunostaining of cortical microtubules and successfully visualized a parallel array of thick microtubules. During reorganization, they covered nearly the entire myoplasm cortical region, beneath the posterior‐vegetal cortex. We designated this microtubule array as CAMP (cortical array of microtubules in posterior vegetal region). During the late phase of reorganization, CAMP shrank and the myoplasm formed a crescent‐like cytoplasmic domain. When the CAMP formation was inhibited by sodium azide, myoplasmic reorganization and A–P axis formation were both abolished, suggesting that CAMP is important for these two processes.

We invented a new reagent that improves the immunostaining and successfully visualized a parallel array of thick microtubules in the posterior‐vegetal cortex of fertilized ascidian eggs. Our results suggest that the microtubule array is important for cytoplasmic and cortical reorganization and anteroposterior axis formation.

Source: Development, Growth and Differentiation - September 1, 2017 Category: Research Authors: Hirokazu Ishii, Toshiyuki Goto, Takahito Nishikata Tags: Original Article Source Type: research