Quantitative Analysis of Asymmetry of the Mitotic Apparatus during Polar Body Formation in Starfish Oocytes

• K. Satoh Setsuko

  Biological Laboratory, Faculty of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology

• Satoh Ryohei

  Department of Physiology, Kitasato University School of Medicine

• Hamaguchi Yukihisa

  Biological Laboratory, Faculty of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology

Abstract

When starfish oocytes were stained with an anti-α-tubulin antibody during polar body formation, the spindle as well as the asters of the mitotic apparatus (MA) were asymmetrical, whereas centrifugation made the MA symmetrical and inhibited polar body formation (Satoh, S.K. et al., Develop. Growth & Differ., 36: 557-565, 1994). Asymmetry in the mitotic spindle was induced by the attachment to the cell surface during maturation in the starfish oocyte. We analyzed fluorescence micrographs of MA quantitatively in both intact and centrifuged oocytes using NIH Image software. Digital subtraction of images of two corresponding half spindles revealed that the half spindles of the intact MA were different in fluorescence intensity, but those of the centrifuged MA were equal. In the intact MA, the peripheral half spindle was brighter by 18% and larger by 20% than the inner half spindle. Consequently, the average ratio of fluorescence intensity in the peripheral half spindle (near the egg surface) to that in the inner half was 1.37. When polar body formation was inhibited by centrifugation, the ratio dropped to 1.02, i.e., both half spindles fluoresced equally. These results demonstrate clearly that MA during polar body formation in the starfish oocyte is asymmetrical.

Journal

• bioimages

  bioimages 4 (2), 79-83, 1996

  Bioimaging Society

Keywords

• starfish oocyte
• polar body formation
• mitotic apparatus
• tubulin
• immunofluorescence
• NIH Image

Details

• CRID: 1390852271223238016
• NII Article ID: 10002037748
• NII Book ID: AA11084187
• DOI: 10.11169/bioimages.4.79
• ISSN: 09192719
• Text Lang: en
• Data Source:
  • JaLC
  • CiNii Articles
• Abstract License Flag: Disallowed