Structural evidence for elastic tethers connecting separating chromosomes in crane-fly spermatocytes

Different types of anaphase bridges are reported to form between segregating chromosomes during cell division. Previous studies using laser microsurgery suggested that elastic tethers connect the telomeres of separating anaphase chromosomes in many animal meiotic and mitotic cells. However, structural evidence is lacking for their existence. In this study, by correlating live imaging with electron tomography, we examined whether visible structures connect separating telomeres in meiosis I of crane-fly primary spermatocytes. We found structures extending between separating telomeres in all stages of anaphase. The structures consist of two components: one is darkly stained, looking somewhat like chromatin, whereas the other is more lightly stained, appearing filamentous. Although in early anaphase both structures extend between telomeres, in later anaphase, the darker structure extends shorter distances from the telomeres but the lighter structure still extends between the separating telomeres. From these observations, we deduced that these structures represent the "tethers" inferred from the laser-cutting experiments. Because elastic tethers have been detected in a variety of animal cells, they probably are present during anaphase in all animal cells.

Blocking Protein Phosphatase 1 [PP1] Prevents Loss of Tether Elasticity in Anaphase Crane-Fly Spermatocytes

In normal anaphase cells, telomeres of each separating chromosome pair are connected to each other by tethers. Tethers are elastic at the start of anaphase: arm fragments cut from anaphase chromosomes in early anaphase move across the equator to the oppositely-moving chromosome, telomere moving toward telomere. Tethers become inelastic later in anaphase as the tethers become longer: arm fragments no longer move to their partners. When early anaphase cells are treated with Calyculin A (CalA), an inhibitor of protein phosphatases 1 (PP1) and 2A (PP2A), at the end of anaphase chromosomes move backward from the poles, with telomeres moving toward partner telomeres. Experiments described herein show that in cells treated with CalA, backwards movements are stopped in a variety of ways, by cutting the tethers of backwards moving chromosomes, by severing arms of backwards moving chromosomes, by severing arms before the chromosomes reach the poles, and by cutting the telomere toward which a chromosome is moving backwards. Measurements of arm-fragment velocities show that CalA prevents tethers from becoming inelastic as they lengthen. Since treatment with CalA causes tethers to remain elastic throughout anaphase and since inhibitors of PP2A do not cause the backwards movements, PP1 activity during anaphase causes the tethers to become inelastic.

The role of phosphorylation in the elasticity of the tethers that connect telomeres of separating anaphase chromosomes

Elastic tethers, connecting telomeres of all separating anaphase chromosome pairs, lose elasticity when they lengthen during anaphase. Treatment with phosphatase inhibitor CalyculinA causes anaphase chromosomes to move backwards after they reach the poles, suggesting that dephosphorylation causes loss of tether elasticity. We added 50nM CalyculinA to living anaphase crane-fly spermatocytes with different length tethers. When tethers were short, almost all partner chromosomes moved backwards after nearing the poles. When tethers were longer, fewer chromosomes moved backwards. With yet longer tethers none moved backward. This is consistent with tether elasticity being lost by dephosphorylation. 50nM CalyculinA blocks both PP1 and PP2A. To distinguish between PP1 and PP2A we treated cells with short tethers with 50nM okadaic acid which blocks solely PP2A, or with 1µM okadaic acid which blocks both PP1 and PP2A. Only 1µM okadaic acid caused chromosomes to move backward. Thus, tether elasticity is lost because of dephosphorylation by PP1.

Evidence of Non-microtubule Spindle Forces in Mesostoma ehrenbergii Spermatocytes

We tested conclusions reached in previous experiments in which Mesostoma spermatocyte chromosomes moved rapidly to a pole in the absence of microtubules: after 10 μM nocodazole (NOC) depolymerized metaphase spindle microtubules, kinetochores from each of the 3 bivalents detached from the same pole and rapidly moved to the other pole, at speeds averaging 37.7 μm/min. with some as high as 100 μm/min. We concluded that these very fast movements were due to non-microtubule forces arising from a spindle matrix. However, since the chromosomes stretch out before detaching, there is tension in the chromosomes from the stretch. Thus the movements of detached kinetochores conceivably might be due to recoil from the tension, though we argued against this possibility (Fegaras and Forer, 2018a). In this article we test whether recoil causes the movements. We cut bivalents into 2 pieces, using a femtosecond laser, before addition of NOC. When 1 bivalent was severed, all kinetochores moved to one pole in 12/15 cells; when 2 bivalents were severed, all kinetochores moved to one pole in 4/6 cells; and when all 3 bivalents were severed all kinetochores moved to one pole in 3/9 cells. The bivalent “halves” moved rapidly, with average speeds of 47 μm/min, velocities that are not significantly different from those in cells without any laser-cut bivalents (p > 0.05). Since kinetochores move at the same speeds whether they are part of bivalents or not, NOC-induced chromosome movements are not due to recoil from tension along the full-length bivalent, strongly supporting the idea that non-microtubule forces move chromosomes in Mesostoma spermatocytes.

Elastic Tethers Between Separating Anaphase Chromosomes Regulate the Poleward Speeds of the Attached Chromosomes in Crane-Fly Spermatocytes

Elastic "tethers" connect separating anaphase chromosomes in most (or all) animal cells. We tested whether tethers are involved in coordinating movements of separating anaphase chromosomes in crane-fly spermatocytes. In these cells the coupled movements of separating chromosomes become uncoupled after the tethers are severed by laser microbeam irradiation of the interzone region between the chromosomes (Sheykhani et al., 2017). While this strongly suggests that tethers are involved with coordinating the poleward chromosome movements, the experiments are open to another interpretation: laser irradiations that cut the tethers also might damage something else in the interzone, and those non-tether components might regulate chromosome movements. In the experiments reported herein we distinguish between those two possibilities by disabling the tethers without cutting the interzone. We cut the arms from individual chromosomes, thereby severing the mechanical connection between separating chromosomes, disconnecting them, without damaging components in the interzone. Disabling tethers in this way uncoupled the movements of the separating chromosomes. We thus conclude that tethers are involved in regulating the speeds of separating anaphase chromosomes in crane-fly spermatocytes.

Precocious cleavage furrows simultaneously move and ingress when kinetochore microtubules are depolymerized in Mesostoma ehrenbergii spermatocytes

A "precocious" cleavage furrow develops and ingresses during early prometaphase in Mesostoma ehrenbergii spermatocytes (Forer and Pickett-Heaps Eur J Cell Biol 89:607-618, 2010). In response to chromosome movements which regularly occur during prometaphase and that alter the balance of chromosomes in the two half-spindles, the precocious furrow shifts its position along the cell, moving 2-3 μm towards the half cell with fewer chromosomes (Ferraro-Gideon et al. Cell Biol Int 37:892-898, 2013). This process continues until proper segregation is achieved and the cell enters anaphase with the cleavage furrow again in the middle of the cell. At anaphase, the furrow recommences ingression. Spindle microtubules (MTs) are implicated in various furrow positioning models, and our experiments studied the responses of the precocious furrows to the absence of spindle MTs. We depolymerized spindle MTs during prometaphase using various concentrations of nocodazole (NOC) and colcemid. The expected result is that the furrow should regress and chromosomes remain in the midzone of the cell (Cassimeris et al. J Cell Sci 96:9-15, 1990). Instead, the furrows commenced ingression and all three bivalent chromosomes moved to one pole while the univalent chromosomes, that usually reside at the two poles, either remained at their poles or moved to the opposite pole along with the bivalents, as described elsewhere (Fegaras and Forer 2018). The microtubules were completely depolymerized by the drugs, as indicated by immunofluorescence staining of treated cells (Fegaras and Forer 2018), and in the absence of microtubules, the furrows often ingressed (in 33/61 cells) at a rate similar to normal anaphase ingression (~ 1 μm/min), while often simultaneously moving toward one pole. Thus, these results indicate that in the absence of anaphase and of spindle microtubules, cleavage furrows resume ingression.

Anaphase Chromosomes in Crane-Fly Spermatocytes Treated With Taxol (Paclitaxel) Accelerate When Their Kinetochore Microtubules Are Cut: Evidence for Spindle Matrix Involvement With Spindle Forces

Various experiments have indicated that anaphase chromosomes continue to move after their kinetochore microtubules are severed. The chromosomes move poleward at an accelerated rate after the microtubules are cut but they slow down 1-3 min later and move poleward at near the original speed. There are two published interpretations of chromosome movements with severed kinetochore microtubules. One interpretation is that dynein relocates to the severed microtubule ends and propels them poleward by pushing against non-kinetochore microtubules. The other interpretation is that components of a putative "spindle matrix" normally push kinetochore microtubules poleward and continue to do so after the microtubules are severed from the pole. In this study we distinguish between these interpretations by treating cells with taxol. Taxol eliminates microtubule dynamics, alters spindle microtubule arrangements, and inhibits dynein motor activity in vivo. If the dynein interpretation is correct, taxol should interfere with chromosome movements after kinetochore microtubules are severed because it alters the arrangements of spindle microtubules and because it blocks dynein activity. If the "spindle matrix" interpretation is correct, on the other hand, taxol should not interfere with the accelerated movements. Our results support the spindle matrix interpretation: anaphase chromosomes in taxol-treated crane-fly spermatocytes accelerated after their kinetochore microtubules were severed.

Chromosomes selectively detach at one pole and quickly move towards the opposite pole when kinetochore microtubules are depolymerized in Mesostoma ehrenbergii spermatocytes

In a typical cell division, chromosomes align at the metaphase plate before anaphase commences. This is not the case in Mesostoma spermatocytes. Throughout prometaphase, the three bivalents persistently oscillate towards and away from either pole, at average speeds of 5-6 μm/min, without ever aligning at a metaphase plate. In our experiments, nocodazole (NOC) was added to prometaphase spermatocytes to depolymerize the microtubules. Traditional theories state that microtubules are the producers of force in the spindle, either by tubulin depolymerizing at the kinetochore (PacMan) or at the pole (Flux). Accordingly, if microtubules are quickly depolymerized, the chromosomes should arrest at the metaphase plate and not move. However, in 57/59 cells, at least one chromosome moved to a pole after NOC treatment, and in 52 of these cells, all three bivalents moved to the same pole. Thus, the movements are not random to one pole or other. After treatment with NOC, chromosome movement followed a consistent pattern. Bivalents stretched out towards both poles, paused, detached at one pole, and then the detached kinetochores quickly moved towards the other pole, reaching initial speeds up to more than 200 μm/min, much greater than anything previously recorded in this cell. As the NOC concentration increased, the average speeds increased and the microtubules disappeared faster. As the kinetochores approached the pole, they slowed down and eventually stopped. Similar results were obtained with colcemid treatment. Confocal immunofluorescence microscopy confirms that microtubules are not associated with moving chromosomes. Thus, these rapid chromosome movements may be due to non-microtubule spindle components such as actin-myosin or the spindle matrix.

A review of "tethers": elastic connections between separating partner chromosomes in anaphase

Recent work has demonstrated the existence of elastic connections, or tethers, between the telomeres of separating partner chromosomes in anaphase. These tethers oppose the poleward spindle forces in anaphase. Functional evidence for tethers has been found in a wide range of animal taxa, suggesting that they might be present in all dividing cells. An examination of the literature on cell division from the nineteenth century to the present reveals that connections between separating partner chromosomes in anaphase have been described in some of the earliest observations of cell division. Here, we review what is currently known about connections between separating partner chromosomes in anaphase, and we speculate on possible functions of tethers, and on what they are made of and how one might determine their composition.

Elastic tethers between separating anaphase chromosomes in crane-fly spermatocytes coordinate chromosome movements to the two poles

Separating anaphase chromosomes in crane-fly spermatocytes are connected by elastic tethers, as originally described by LaFountain et al. (2002): telomere-containing arm fragments severed from the arms move backwards to the partner telomeres. We have tested whether the tethers coordinate the movements of separating partner chromosomes. In other cell types anaphase chromosomes move faster, temporarily, when their kinetochore microtubules are severed. However, in crane-fly spermatocytes the chromosomes move at their usual speed when their kinetochore microtubules are severed. To test whether the absence of increased velocity is because tethers link the separating chromosomes and coordinate their movements, we cut tethers with a laser microbeam and then cut the kinetochore microtubules. After this procedure, the associated chromosome sped up, as in other cells. These results indicate that the movements of partner anaphase chromosomes in crane-fly spermatocytes are coordinated by elastic tethers connecting the two chromosomes and confirm that chromosomes speed up in anaphase when their kinetochore microtubules are severed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mitotic tethers connect sister chromosomes and transmit "cross-polar" force during anaphase A of mitosis in PtK2 cells

Originally described in crane-fly spermatocytes, tethers physically link and transmit force between the ends of separating chromosomes. Optical tweezers and laser scissors were used to sever the tether between chromosomes, create chromosome fragments attached to the tether which move toward the opposite pole, and to trap the tethered fragments. Laser microsurgery in the intracellular space between separating telomeres reduced chromosome strain in half of tested chromosome pairs. When the telomere-containing region was severed from the rest of the chromosome body, the resultant fragment either traveled towards the proper pole (poleward), towards the sister pole (cross-polar), or movement ceased. Fragment travel towards the sister pole varied in distance and always ceased following a cut between telomeres, indicating the tether is responsible for transferring a cross-polar force to the fragment. Optical trapping of cross-polar traveling fragments places an upper boundary on the tethering force of ~1.5 pN.

Elastic 'tethers' connect separating anaphase chromosomes in a broad range of animal cells

We describe the general occurrence in animal cells of elastic components ("tethers") that connect individual chromosomes moving to opposite poles during anaphase. Tethers, originally described in crane-fly spermatocytes, exert force on chromosome arms opposite to the direction the anaphase chromosomes move. We show that they exist in a broad range of animal cells. Thus tethers are previously unrecognised components of general mitotic mechanisms that exert force on chromosomes and they need to be accounted for in general models of mitosis in terms of forces on chromosomes and in terms of what their roles might be.

Movement of chromosomes with severed kinetochore microtubules

Experiments dating from 1966 and thereafter showed that anaphase chromosomes continued to move poleward after their kinetochore microtubules were severed by ultraviolet microbeam irradiation. These observations were initially met with scepticism as they contradicted the prevailing view that kinetochore fibre microtubules pulled chromosomes to the pole. However, recent experiments using visible light laser microbeam irradiations have corroborated these earlier experiments as anaphase chromosomes again were shown to move poleward after their kinetochore microtubules were severed. Thus, multiple independent studies using different techniques have shown that chromosomes can indeed move poleward without direct microtubule connections to the pole, with only a kinetochore 'stub' of microtubules. An issue not yet settled is: what propels the disconnected chromosome? There are two not necessarily mutually exclusive proposals in the literature: (1) chromosome movement is propelled by the kinetochore stub interacting with non-kinetochore microtubules and (2) chromosome movement is propelled by a spindle matrix acting on the stub. In this review, we summarise the data indicating that chromosomes can move with severed kinetochore microtubules and we discuss proposed mechanisms for chromosome movement with severed kinetochore microtubules.

Meiosis-I in Mesostoma ehrenbergii spermatocytes includes distance segregation and inter-polar movements of univalents, and vigorous oscillations of bivalents

In this article, we describe meiosis-I in spermatocytes of the free-living freshwater flatworm Mesostoma ehrenbergii. The original observations of Oakley (1983, 1985) and Fuge (Eur J Cell Biol 44:294-298, 1987, Cell Motil Cytoskeleton 13:212-220, 1989, Protoplasma 160:39-48, 1991), the first to describe these cells, challenge our understanding of cell division, and we have expanded on these descriptions with the aim of laying the framework for further experimental work. These cells contain three bivalents and four univalent chromosomes (two pairs). Bivalent kinetochores oscillate vigorously and regularly throughout prometaphase, for up to several hours, until anaphase. Anaphase onset usually begins in the middle of the kinetochore oscillation cycle. Precocious cleavage furrows form at the start of prometaphase, ingress and then remain arrested until the end of anaphase. The four univalents do not pair, yet by anaphase there is one of each kind at each pole, an example of "distance segregation" (Hughes-Schrader in Chromosoma 27:109-129, 1969). Until proper segregation is achieved, univalents move between spindle poles up to seven times in an individual cell; they move with velocities averaging 9 μm/min, which is faster than the oscillatory motions of the bivalent kinetochores (5-6 μm/min), and much faster than the anaphase movements of the segregating half-bivalents (1 μm/min). Bipolar bivalents periodically reorient, most often resulting in the partner kinetochores exchanging poles. We suggest that the large numbers of inter-polar movements of univalents, and the reorientations of bivalents that lead to partners exchanging poles, might be because there is non-random segregation of chromosomes, as in some other cell types.

Distance segregation of sex chromosomes in crane-fly spermatocytes studied using laser microbeam irradiations

Univalent sex chromosomes in crane-fly spermatocytes have kinetochore spindle fibres to each spindle pole (amphitelic orientation) from metaphase throughout anaphase. The univalents segregate in anaphase only after the autosomes approach the poles. As each univalent moves in anaphase, one spindle fibre shortens and the other spindle fibre elongates. To test whether the directionality of force production is fixed at anaphase, that is, whether one spindle fibre can only elongate and the other only shorten, we cut univalents in half with a laser microbeam, to create two chromatids. In both sex-chromosome metaphase and sex-chromosome anaphase, the two chromatids that were formed moved to opposite poles (to the poles to which their fibre was attached) at speeds about the same as autosomes, much faster than the usual speeds of univalent movements. Since the chromatids moved to the pole to which they were attached, independent of the direction to which the univalent as a whole was moving, the spindle fibre that normally elongates in anaphase still is able to shorten and produce force towards the pole when allowed (or caused) to do so.

Mesostoma ehrenbergii spermatocytes--a unique and advantageous cell for studying meiosis

Mesostoma ehrenbergii have a unique male meiosis: their spermatocytes have three large bivalents that oscillate for 1-2 h before entering into anaphase without having formed a metaphase plate, have a precocious ('pre-anaphase') cleavage furrow, and have four univalents that segregate between spindle poles without physical interaction between them, that is via 'distance segregation'. These unique and unconventional features make Mesostoma spermatocytes an ideal organism for studying the force produced by the spindle to move chromosomes, and to study cleavage furrow control and 'distance segregation'. We review the literature on meiosis in Mesostoma spermatocytes and describe our current research with Mesostoma spermatocytes, rearing the animals in the laboratory using methods that described in our companion article [Hoang et al. (2013); Cell Biol Int].

The role of actin and myosin in PtK2 spindle length changes induced by laser microbeam irradiations across the spindle

This study investigates spindle biomechanical properties to better understand how spindles function. In this report, laser microbeam cutting across mitotic spindles resulted in movement of spindle poles toward the spindle equator. The pole on the cut side moved first, the other pole moved later, resulting in a shorter but symmetric spindle. Intervening spindle microtubules bent and buckled during the equatorial movement of the poles. Because of this and because there were no detectable microtubules within the ablation zone, other cytoskeletal elements would seem to be involved in the equatorial movement of the poles. One possibility is actin and myosin since pharmacological poisoning of the actin-myosin system altered the equatorial movements of both irradiated and unirradiated poles. Immunofluorescence microscopy confirmed that actin, myosin and monophosphorylated myosin are associated with spindle fibers and showed that some actin and monophosphorylated myosin remained in the irradiated regions. Overall, our experiments suggest that actin, myosin and microtubules interact to control spindle length. We suggest that actin and myosin, possibly in conjunction with the spindle matrix, cause the irradiated pole to move toward the equator and that cross-talk between the two half spindles causes the unirradiated pole to move toward the equator until a balanced length is obtained.

The role of myosin phosphorylation in anaphase chromosome movement

This work deals with the role of myosin phosphorylation in anaphase chromosome movement. Y27632 and ML7 block two different pathways for phosphorylation of the myosin regulatory light chain (MRLC). Both stopped or slowed chromosome movement when added to anaphase crane-fly spermatocytes. To confirm that the effects of the pharmacological agents were on the presumed targets, we studied cells stained with antibodies against mono- or bi-phosphorylated myosin. For all chromosomes whose movements were affected by a drug, the corresponding spindle fibres of the affected chromosomes had reduced levels of 1P- and 2P-myosin. Thus the drugs acted on the presumed target and myosin phosphorylation is involved in anaphase force production. Calyculin A, an inhibitor of MRLC dephosphorylation, reversed and accelerated the altered movements caused by Y27632 and ML-7, suggesting that another phosphorylation pathway is involved in phosphorylation of spindle myosin. Staurosporine, a more general phosphorylation inhibitor, also reduced the levels of MRLC phosphorylation and caused anaphase chromosomes to stop or slow. The effects of staurosporine on chromosome movements were not reversed by Calyculin A, confirming that another phosphorylation pathway is involved in phosphorylation of spindle myosin.

Measurements of forces produced by the mitotic spindle using optical tweezers

An optical trap is used to stop chromosome movement in spermatocytes from an insect and a flatworm and to stop pole movement in PtK cells. The forces required are much smaller than previously believed.

We used a trapping laser to stop chromosome movements in Mesostoma and crane-fly spermatocytes and inward movements of spindle poles after laser cuts across Potorous tridactylus (rat kangaroo) kidney (PtK2) cell half-spindles. Mesostoma spermatocyte kinetochores execute oscillatory movements to and away from the spindle pole for 1–2 h, so we could trap kinetochores multiple times in the same spermatocyte. The trap was focused to a single point using a 63× oil immersion objective. Trap powers of 15–23 mW caused kinetochore oscillations to stop or decrease. Kinetochore oscillations resumed when the trap was released. In crane-fly spermatocytes trap powers of 56–85 mW stopped or slowed poleward chromosome movement. In PtK2 cells 8-mW trap power stopped the spindle pole from moving toward the equator. Forces in the traps were calculated using the equation F = Q′P/c, where P is the laser power and c is the speed of light. Use of appropriate Q′ coefficients gave the forces for stopping pole movements as 0.3–2.3 pN and for stopping chromosome movements in Mesostoma spermatocytes and crane-fly spermatocytes as 2–3 and 6–10 pN, respectively. These forces are close to theoretical calculations of forces causing chromosome movements but 100 times lower than the 700 pN measured previously in grasshopper spermatocytes.

What generates flux of tubulin in kinetochore microtubules?

We discuss models for production of tubulin flux in kinetochore microtubules. Current models concentrate solely on microtubules and their associated motors and enzymes. For example, in some models the driving force for flux is enzymes at the poles and the kinetochores; in others the driving force is motor molecules that are associated with a stationary spindle matrix. We present a different viewpoint, that microtubules are propelled poleward by forces arising from the spindle matrix, that the forces on the microtubules "activate" polymerising and depolymerising enzymes at kinetochores and poles, that matrix forces utilise actin, myosin, and microtubule motors, and that the matrix itself may not necessarily be static.

Actin and myosin inhibitors block elongation of kinetochore fibre stubs in metaphase crane-fly spermatocytes

We used an ultraviolet microbeam to cut individual kinetochore spindle fibres in metaphase crane-fly spermatocytes. We then followed the growth of the "kinetochore stubs", the remnants of kinetochore fibres that remain attached to kinetochores. Kinetochore stubs elongate with constant velocity by adding tubulin subunits at the kinetochore, and thus elongation is related to tubulin flux in the kinetochore microtubules. Stub elongation was blocked by cytochalasin D and latrunculin A, actin inhibitors, and by butanedione monoxime, a myosin inhibitor. We conclude that actin and myosin are involved in generating elongation and thus in producing tubulin flux in kinetochore microtubules. We suggest that actin and myosin act in concert with a spindle matrix to propel kinetochore fibres poleward, thereby causing stub elongation and generating anaphase chromosome movement in nonirradiated cells.

Titin in insect spermatocyte spindle fibers associates with microtubules, actin, myosin and the matrix proteins skeletor, megator and chromator

Titin, the giant elastic protein found in muscles, is present in spindles of crane-fly and locust spermatocytes as determined by immunofluorescence staining using three antibodies, each raised against a different, spatially separated fragment of Drosophila titin (D-titin). All three antibodies stained the Z-lines and other regions in insect myofibrils. In western blots of insect muscle extract the antibodies reacted with high molecular mass proteins, ranging between rat nebulin (600-900 kDa) and rat titin (3000-4000 kDa). Mass spectrometry of the high molecular mass band from the Coomassie-Blue-stained gel of insect muscle proteins indicates that the protein the antibodies bind to is titin. The pattern of staining in insect spermatocytes was slightly different in the two species, but in general all three anti-D-titin antibodies stained the same components: the chromosomes, prophase and telophase nuclear membranes, the spindle in general, along kinetochore and non-kinetochore microtubules, along apparent connections between partner half-bivalents during anaphase, and various cytoplasmic components, including the contractile ring. That the same cellular components are stained in close proximity by the three different antibodies, each against a different region of D-titin, is strong evidence that the three antibodies identify a titin-like protein in insect spindles, which we identified by mass spectrometry analysis as being titin. The spindle matrix proteins skeletor, megator and chromator are present in many of the same structures, in positions very close to (or the same as) D-titin. Myosin and actin also are present in spindles in close proximity to D-titin. The varying spatial arrangements of these proteins during the course of division suggest that they interact to form a spindle matrix with elastic properties provided by a titin-like protein.

Possible roles of actin and myosin during anaphase chromosome movements in locust spermatocytes

We tested whether the mechanisms of chromosome movement during anaphase in locust (Locusta migratoria L.) spermatocytes might be similar to those described for crane-fly spermatocytes. Actin and myosin have been implicated in anaphase chromosome movements in crane-fly spermatocytes, as indicated by the effects of inhibitors and by the localisations of actin and myosin in spindles. In this study, we tested whether locust spermatocyte spindles also utilise actin and myosin, and whether actin is involved in microtubule flux. Living locust spermatocytes were treated with inhibitors of actin (latrunculin B and cytochalasin D), myosin (BDM), or myosin phosphorylation (Y-27632 and ML-7). We added drugs (individually) during anaphase. Actin inhibitors alter anaphase: chromosomes either completely stop moving, slow, or sometimes accelerate. The myosin inhibitor, BDM, also alters anaphase: in most cases, the chromosomes drastically slow or stop. ML-7, an inhibitor of MLCK, causes chromosomes to stop, slow, or sometimes accelerate, similar to actin inhibitors. Y-27632, an inhibitor of Rho-kinase, drastically slows or stops anaphase chromosome movements. The effects of the drugs on anaphase movement are reversible: most of the half-bivalents resumed movement at normal speed after these drugs were washed out. Actin and myosin were present in the spindles in locations consistent with their possible involvement in force production. Microtubule flux along kinetochore fibres is an actin-dependent process, since LatB completely removes or drastically reduces the gap in microtubule acetylation at the kinetochore. These results suggest that actin and myosin are involved in anaphase chromosome movements in locust spermatocytes.

Calyculin A, an enhancer of myosin, speeds up anaphase chromosome movement

Actin and myosin inhibitors often blocked anaphase movements in insect spermatocytes in previous experiments. Here we treat cells with an enhancer of myosin, Calyculin A, which inhibits myosin-light-chain phosphatase from dephosphorylating myosin; myosin thus is hyperactivated. Calyculin A causes anaphase crane-fly spermatocyte chromosomes to accelerate poleward; after they reach the poles they often move back toward the equator. When added during metaphase, chromosomes at anaphase move faster than normal. Calyculin A causes prometaphase chromosomes to move rapidly up and back along the spindle axis, and to rotate. Immunofluorescence staining with an antibody against phosphorylated myosin regulatory light chain (p-squash) indicated increased phosphorylation of cleavage furrow myosin compared to control cells, indicating that calyculin A indeed increased myosin phosphorylation. To test whether the Calyculin A effects are due to myosin phosphatase or to type 2 phosphatases, we treated cells with okadaic acid, which inhibits protein phosphatase 2A at concentrations similar to Calyculin A but requires much higher concentrations to inhibit myosin phosphatase. Okadaic acid had no effect on chromosome movement. Backward movements did not require myosin or actin since they were not affected by 2,3-butanedione monoxime or LatruculinB. Calyculin A affects the distribution and organization of spindle microtubules, spindle actin, cortical actin and putative spindle matrix proteins skeletor and titin, as visualized using immunofluorescence. We discuss how accelerated and backwards movements might arise.

Fibrin clots keep non-adhering living cells in place on glass for perfusion or fixation

We describe a method to hold living cells in place that ordinarily do not adhere to glass coverslips. The method, developed for insect spermatocytes but with application to other cell types, consists of embedding cells in a fibrin clot that forms after the enzyme thrombin cleaves the blood protein fibrinogen. The method permits continuous observation of living cells as they are treated with and recover from drug or other treatments: when held in the clot the living cells remain in place and keep their shapes when perfused with drugs that ordinarily cause drastic shape changes, and they remain in place and keep their shapes through lysis/fixation procedures. We describe how to place live cells in a fibrin clot and how subsequently to perfuse them.

Redundant mechanisms for anaphase chromosome movements: crane-fly spermatocyte spindles normally use actin filaments but also can function without them

Actin inhibitors block or slow anaphase chromosome movements in crane-fly spermatocytes, but stopping of movement is only temporary; we assumed that cells adapt to loss of actin by switching to mechanism(s) involving only microtubules. To test this, we produced actin-filament-free spindles: we added latrunculin B during prometaphase, 9-80 min before anaphase, after which chromosomes generally moved normally during anaphase. We confirmed the absence of actin filaments by staining with fluorescent phalloidin and by showing that cytochalasin D had no effect on chromosome movement. Thus, actin filaments are involved in normal anaphase movements, but in vivo, spindles nonetheless can function normally without them. We tested whether chromosome movements in actin-filament-free spindles arise via microtubules by challenging such spindles with anti-myosin drugs. Y-27632 and BDM (2,3-butanedione monoxime), inhibitors that affect myosin at different regulatory levels, blocked chromosome movement in normal spindles and in actin-filament-free spindles. We tested whether BDM has side effects on microtubule motors. BDM had no effect on ciliary and sperm motility or on ATPase activity of isolated ciliary axonemes, and thus it does not directly block dynein. Nor does it block kinesin, assayed by a microtubule sliding assay. BDM could conceivably indirectly affect these microtubule motors, though it is unlikely that it would have the same side effect on the motors as Y-27632. Since BDM and Y-27632 both affect chromosome movement in the same way, it would seem that both affect spindle myosin; this suggests that spindle myosin interacts with kinetochore microtubules, either directly or via an intermediate component.

Does 2,3-butanedione monoxime inhibit nonmuscle myosin?

BDM (2,3-butanedione monoxime) has been used extensively to inhibit nonmuscle myosin. However, recent articles raise the question of what BDM actually does, because of experiments in which BDM did not affect the actin-activated ATPase of nonmuscle myosins. We describe results that indicate that BDM indeed inhibits motility due to nonmuscle myosins: in many different cells BDM has the same effects as anti-actin agents and/or as other anti-myosin agents, and BDM slows or stops the sliding between actin filaments and myosin in vitro. We discuss how the two sets of apparently contradictory results might be resolved, and we suggest possible experiments that might clarify the contradictory interpretations.

'Signalling' between chromosomes in crane-fly spermatocytes studied using ultraviolet microbeam irradiation

The present article deals with signals from kinetochores in anaphase crane-fly spermatocytes: when a half-bivalent's kinetochore is irradiated with an ultraviolet microbeam during anaphase, all half-bivalents in the cell stop moving to both poles. Movement blockage is temporary, and different half-bivalent pairs resume movement at different times. Movement stoppage presumably is due to signals arising from the irradiated kinetochores and transmitted to the 'motors' of the other chromosomes. We used a second irradiation (of the interzone) to determine the path of the signal. We reasoned that if irradiation of the interzone blocked transmission of the putative signal, then those chromosomes not receiving the signal should continue to move after irradiation of a kinetochore. Interzone irradiation interfered with the signal in about 20% of the 51 cells irradiated doubly, in that chromosome(s) moving to one pole stopped while chromosome(s) moving to the other pole continued. There was a second indication that interzonal irradiation blocked the signal: in about 30% of the cells in which the kinetochore was irradiated first and interzone second, all half-bivalents resumed movement immediately after the second irradiation.

Continuous phosphatidylinositol metabolism is required for cleavage of crane fly spermatocytes

Successful cleavage of animal cells requires co-ordinated regulation of the actomyosin contractile ring and cleavage furrow ingression. Data from a variety of systems implicate phosphoinositol lipids and calcium release as potential regulators of this fundamental process. Here we examine the requirement for various steps of the phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) cycle in dividing crane fly (Nephrotoma suturalis) spermatocytes. PtdIns cycle inhibitors were added to living cells after cleavage furrows formed and began to ingress. Inhibitors known to block PtdIns recycling (lithium), PtdIns phosphorylation (wortmannin, LY294002) or phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PtdIns(4,5)P2] hydrolysis [U73122 (U7)] all stopped or slowed furrowing. The effect of these drugs on cytokinesis was quite rapid (within 0-4 minutes), so continuous metabolism of PtdIns appears to be required for continued cleavage furrow ingression. U7 caused cleavage furrow regression concomitant with depletion of F-actin from the contractile ring, whereas the other inhibitors caused neither regression nor depletion of F-actin. That U7 depletes furrow-associated actin seems counterintuitive, as inhibition of phospholipase C would be expected to increase cellular levels of PtdIns(4,5)P2 and hence increase actin polymerization. Our confocal images suggest, however, that F-actin might accumulate at the poles of U7-treated cells, consistent with the idea that PtdIns(4,5)P2 hydrolysis may be required for actin filaments formed at the poles to participate in contractile ring assembly at the furrow.

Backward chromosome movement in crane-fly spermatocytes after UV microbeam irradiation of the interzone and a kinetochore

Single anaphase chromosomes (in crane-fly spermatocytes) moved backwards after double irradiations with an ultraviolet light (UV) microbeam, first of the interzone and then of a kinetochore: the chromosome irradiated at the kinetochore moved backwards rapidly, across the equator and into the other half-spindle. High irradiation doses at the kinetochore were required to induce backward movement. Single irradiations of kinetochores or interzones were ineffective in inducing backward movements.

Structure of kinetochore fibres in crane-fly spermatocytes after irradiation with an ultraviolet microbeam: Neither microtubules nor actin filaments remain in the irradiated region

We studied chromosome movement after kinetochore microtubules were severed. Severing a kinetochore fibre in living crane-fly spermatocytes with an ultraviolet microbeam creates a kinetochore stub, a birefringent remnant of the spindle fibre connected to the kinetochore and extending only to the edge of the irradiated region. After the irradiation, anaphase chromosomes either move poleward led by their stubs or temporarily stop moving. We examined actin and/or microtubules in irradiated cells by means of confocal fluorescence microscopy or serial-section reconstructions from electron microscopy. For each cell thus examined, chromosome movement had been recorded continuously until the moment of fixation. Kinetochore microtubules were completely severed by the ultraviolet microbeam in cells in which chromosomes continued to move poleward after the irradiation: none were seen in the irradiated regions. Similarly, actin filaments normally present in kinetochore fibres were severed by the ultraviolet microbeam irradiations: the irradiated regions contained no actin filaments and only local spots of non-filamentous actin. There was no difference in irradiated regions when the associated chromosomes continued to move versus when they stopped moving. Thus, one cannot explain motion with severed kinetochore microtubules in terms of either microtubules or actin-filaments bridging the irradiated region. The data seem to negate current models for anaphase chromosome movement and support a model in which poleward chromosome movement results from forces generated within the spindle matrix that propel kinetochore fibres or kinetochore stubs poleward.

Myosin localization during meiosis I of crane-fly spermatocytes gives indications about its role in division

We showed previously that in crane-fly spermatocytes myosin is required for tubulin flux [Silverman-Gavrila and Forer, 2000a: J Cell Sci 113:597-609], and for normal anaphase chromosome movement and contractile ring contraction [Silverman-Gavrila and Forer, 2001: Cell Motil Cytoskeleton 50:180-197]. Neither the identity nor the distribution of myosin(s) were known. In the present work, we used immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy to study myosin during meiosis-I of crane-fly spermatocytes compared to tubulin, actin, and skeletor, a spindle matrix protein, in order to further understand how myosin might function during cell division. Antibodies to myosin II regulatory light chain and myosin II heavy chain gave similar staining patterns, both dependent on stage: myosin is associated with nuclei, asters, centrosomes, chromosomes, spindle microtubules, midbody microtubules, and contractile rings. Myosin and actin colocalization along kinetochore fibers from prometaphase to anaphase are consistent with suggestions that acto-myosin forces in these stages propel kinetochore fibres poleward and trigger tubulin flux in kinetochore fibres, contributing in this way to poleward chromosome movement. Myosin and actin colocalization at the cell equator in cytokinesis, similar to studies in other cells [e.g., Fujiwara and Pollard, 1978: J Cell Biol 77:182-195], supports a role of actin-myosin interactions in contractile ring function. Myosin and skeletor colocalization in prometaphase spindles is consistent with a role of these proteins in spindle formation. After microtubules or actin were disrupted, myosin remained in spindles and contractile rings, suggesting that the presence of myosin in these structures does not require the continued presence of microtubules or actin. BDM (2,3 butanedione, 2 monoxime) treatment that inhibits chromosome movement and cytokinesis also altered myosin distributions in anaphase spindles and contractile rings, consistent with the physiological effects, suggesting also that myosin needs to be active in order to be properly distributed.

Microtubule distribution during meiosis I in flea-beetle [Alagoasa (Oedionychus)] spermatocytes: evidence for direct connections between unpaired sex chromosomes

The meiosis-I spindle in flea-beetle spermatocytes is unusual in that the autosomes and univalent sex chromosomes are separated by a mitochondrial sheath and move polewards at different times. To help understand the basis for this interesting chromosome behaviour, and to gather more detailed information about it, we studied microtubule distributions throughout meiosis I using immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy, and took careful measurements of pole and kinetochore positions at all stages of division. Our results show that, by late prophase, there is a spindle-shaped cytoplasmic array of microtubules in the central part of the cell, with the nucleus at the periphery. Following nuclear envelope breakdown, both autosomes and sex chromosomes become associated with cytoplasmic microtubules, although only the autosomes move centrally to the 'cytoplasmic spindle'. The two unpaired sex chromosomes remain at the cell periphery and appear to be connected to each other by a microtubule bundle extending between their kinetochores. These bundles often persist into anaphase. Analysis of measurements taken from fixed/stained cells supports previous observations that sex chromosomes move part way to the pole in early prometaphase and then stop. The measurements also suggest that during autosomal anaphase, spindle elongation precedes autosome movement to the poles and polewards movement of sex chromosomes is limited or absent when autosomes are moving polewards.

Effects of anti-myosin drugs on anaphase chromosome movement and cytokinesis in crane-fly primary spermatocytes

To investigate whether myosin is involved in crane-fly primary spermatocyte division, we studied the effects of myosin inhibitors on chromosome movement and on cytokinesis. With respect to chromosome movement, the myosin ATPase inhibitor 2,3-butanedione 2-monoxime (BDM) added during autosomal anaphase reversibly perturbed the movements of all autosomes: autosomes stopped, slowed, or moved backwards during treatment. BDM added before anaphase onset altered chromosome movement less than when BDM was added during anaphase: chromosome movements only rarely were stopped. They often were normal initially and then, if altered at all, were slowed. To confirm that the effects of BDM were due to myosin inhibition, we treated cells with ML-7, a drug that inhibits myosin light chain kinase (MLCK), an enzyme necessary to activate myosin. ML-7 affected anaphase movement only when added in early prometaphase: this treatment prevented chromosome attachment to the spindle. We treated cells with H-7 as a control for possible non-myosin effects of ML-7. H-7, which has a lower affinity than ML-7 for MLCK but a higher affinity than ML-7 for other potential targets, had no effect. These data confirm that the BDM effect is on myosin and indicate that the myosin used for chromosome movement is activated near the start of prometaphase. With respect to cytokinesis, BDM did not block furrow initiation but did block subsequent contraction of the contractile ring. When BDM was added after initiation of the furrow, the contractile ring either stalled or relaxed. ML-7 blocked contractile ring contraction when added at all stages after autosomal anaphase onset, including when added during cytokinesis. H-7 had no effect. These results confirm that the effects of BDM are on myosin and indicate that the myosin used for cytokinesis is activated starting from autosomal anaphase and continuing throughout cytokinesis.

Pac-Man does not resolve the enduring problem of anaphase chromosome movement

The Pac-Man hypothesis suggests that poleward movement of chromosomes during anaphase A is brought about by: disassembly of kinetochore microtubules (MTs) at the kinetochore; generation of the poleward force exclusively at or very close to the kinetochore; and the required energy coming from coupled disassembly of these MTs. This model has become widely accepted and cited as the sole or major mechanism of anaphase A. Rarely acknowledged are several significant phenomena that refute some or all of these postulates. We summarise these anomalies as follows: poleward movement of chromosomes occurring without insertion of any MTs at the kinetochore; "anaphase" shortening of kinetochore fibres in spindles entirely devoid of chromosomes and, presumably, kinetochores; continued movement of chromosomes while their severed kinetochore stub elongated poleward after treatment with UV microbeams; and fluxing of tubulin subunits through kinetochore MTs during anaphase A, indicating that during anaphase, kinetochore MTs disassemble partly or solely at the poles.

Evidence that kinetochore fibre microtubules shorten predominantly at the pole in anaphase flea-beetle spermatocytes

Kinetochore spindle fibres in flea-beetle metaphase primary spermatocytes have two regions with distinct morphologies. As seen after staining with antibodies against tubulin, the kinetochore microtubules are tightly bundled in the 5 microm closest to the kinetochore but they splay out in the region closest to the pole. This morphology persists throughout anaphase. This distinct morphology allows one to deduce the site where kinetochore microtubules depolymerise during anaphase. During poleward movement of the autosomes in anaphase, the bundled region shortens by about 0.25 microm for each 1 microm the chromosome moves poleward; this suggests that, during anaphase, 75% of the kinetochore microtubule shortening occurs at the pole end. Sex chromosomes in metaphase cells are separated from the autosomes and do not move poleward at the same time as the autosomes: they are reported to move poleward when the autosomes are in metaphase, to stop part way to the poles, and to move poleward again as the autosomes do (Virkki 1970). Kinetochore microtubules of the sex chromosomes also have bundled and splayed regions; measurements of those regions suggest that these chromosomes may move poleward before the autosomes enter anaphase, but not afterwards.

Effects of ultraviolet-microbeam irradiation of kinetochores in crane-fly spermatocytes

Ultraviolet (UV)-microbeam irradiation of a single kinetochore during anaphase generally causes all 6 of the half-bivalents in the cell to stop poleward motion within 1 min after the irradiation. The half-bivalents regain movement after remaining stopped for an average of 8.7 min, through different pairs in the same cell can resume at different times. Once movement resumes they usually continue movement until they reach the poles. As controls, to see if the effect is due to alteration of the kinetochore, we irradiated spindle fibers and chromosome arms using the same doses and wavelengths as for kinetochore irradiation. After spindle fiber irradiation, only the half-bivalent associated with the irradiated spindle fiber and its partner stop moving poleward while the other half-bivalents in the same cell are not affected. After irradiation of a chromosome arm, the movement of the two partner half-bivalents associated with irradiated arm either slowed or moved with unchanged velocity; no other half-bivalents in the cell were affected. Therefore, only irradiation of a kinetochore stops the movement of all the half-bivalents in the same cell. We suggest that the irradiated kinetochore sends a "stop" signal to the other kinetochores in the same cell.

Traction fibre: toward a "tensegral" model of the spindle

Most current hypotheses of mitotic mechanisms are based on the "PAC-MAN" paradigm in which chromosome movement is generated and powered by disassembly of kinetochore microtubules (k-MTs) by the kinetochore. Recent experiments demonstrate that this model cannot explain force generation for anaphase chromosome movement [Pickett-Heaps et al., 1996: Protoplasma 192:1-10]. Another such experiment is described here: a UV-microbeam cut several kinetochore fibres (k-fibres) in newt epithelial cells at metaphase and the half-spindle immediately shortened: in several cells, the remaining intact spindle fibres bowed outwards as they came under increased compression. Thus, severing of k-MTs can lead to increased tension between chromosomes and poles. This observation cannot be explained by models in which force is produced by motor molecules at the kinetochore actively disassembling k-MTs. Rather, we argue that tensile forces act along the whole k-fibre, which, therefore, can be considered as a classic "traction fibre." We suggest that anaphase polewards force is generated by MTs interacting with the spindle matrix and when k-MTs are severed, polewards force continues to act on the remaining kMT-stub; spindle MTs act as rigid struts concurrently resisting and being controlled by these forces. We suggest that the principles of "cellular tensegrity" [Ingber, 1993: J. Cell Sci. 104:613-627] derived from the behaviour and organization of the interphase cell apply to the spindle. In an evolutionary context, this argument further suggests that the spindle might originally have evolved as the mechanism by which a single tensegral unit (cytoplast) is divided into two cytoplasts; use of the spindle for segregating chromosomes might represent a secondary, more recent development of this primary function. If valid, this concept has implications for the way the spindle functions and for the spindle's relationship to cytokinesis.

Ultraviolet microbeam irradiations of epithelial and spermatocyte spindles suggest that forces act on the kinetochore fibre and are not generated by its disassembly

Ultraviolet (UV) microbeam irradiations of crane-fly spermatocyte and newt epithelial spindles severed kinetochore fibres (KT-fibres), creating areas of reduced birefringence (ARBs): the remnant KT-fibre consists of two "stubs," a pole-stub attached to the pole and a KT-stub attached to the kinetochore. KT-stubs remained visible but pole-stubs soon became undetectable [Forer et al., 1996]. At metaphase, in both cell types the KT-stub often changed orientation immediately after irradiation and its tip steadily moved poleward. In spermatocytes, the chromosome attached to the KT-stub remained at the equator as the KT-stub elongated. In epithelial cells, the KT-stub sometimes elongated as the associated chromosome remained at the equator; other times the associated chromosome moved poleward together with the KT-stub, albeit only a short distance toward the pole. When an ARB was generated at anaphase, chromosome(s) with a KT-stub often continued to move poleward. In spermatocytes, this movement was accompanied by steady elongation of the KT-stub. In epithelial cells, chromosomes accelerated polewards after irradiation until the KT-stubs reached the pole, after which chromosome movement returned to normal speeds. In some epithelial cells fine birefringent fibres by chance were present along one edge of ARBs; these remnant fibres buckled and broke as the KT-stub and chromosome moved polewards. Similarly, KT-stubs that moved into pole stubs (or astral fibres) caused the pole stubs (or astral fibres) to bend sharply from the point of impact. Our results contradict models of chromosome movement that postulate that force is generated by the kinetochore disassembling the KT-fibre. Instead, these results suggest that poleward directed forces act on the KT-fibre and the KT-stub and suggest that continuity of microtubules between kinetochore and pole is not obligatory for achieving anaphase motion to the pole.

Effects of nanomolar taxol on crane-fly spermatocyte spindles indicate that acetylation of kinetochore microtubules can be used as a marker of poleward tubulin flux

Kinetochore microtubules (kMTs) in meiosis-I crane-fly spermatocytes label strongly with antibodies to acetylated alpha-tubulin, except near the kinetochore, where there is a "gap" in labelling [Wilson and Forer, 1989: Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 14:237-250]. Previously we measured the length of gaps in metaphase and anaphase cells, and from these data deduced that during anaphase kMTs disassemble primarily at the pole [Wilson et al., 1994: J. Cell Sci. 107:3015-3027]. However, the study rested on our assumption that the gap is due to a time lag between polymerisation at the kinetochore and acetylation of the polymerised MTs: the subunits enter kMTs at the kinetochore and do not become acetylated until they have moved poleward. In the present study we tested our interpretation of the gap by treating spermatocytes with paclitaxel (taxol) to reduce microtubule dynamics [e.g. Jordan et al., 1993: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90:9552-9556]. We expected that if our assumptions were correct, taxol would slow tubulin addition at the kinetochore but acetylation would continue, and the gap in acetylation would get smaller. We found that 5 to 50 nM taxol results in increased acetylation of kMTs at the kinetochore, supporting our interpretation of the gap. Nanomolar taxol also increases the level of acetylation in other microtubule populations and causes changes in spindle morphology.

Evidence that actin and myosin are involved in the poleward flux of tubulin in metaphase kinetochore microtubules of crane-fly spermatocytes

We studied the effects of various drugs on the poleward flux of tubulin in kinetochore microtubules in metaphase-I crane-fly spermatocytes. We used as a measure of tubulin flux a ‘gap’ in acetylation of kinetochore microtubules immediately poleward from the kinetochore; the ‘gap’ is caused by a time lag between incorporation of new tubulin subunits at the kinetochore and subsequent acetylation of those subunits as they flux to the pole. We confirmed that the ‘gap’ is due to flux by showing that the ‘gap’ disappeared when cells were treated briefly with the anti-tubulin drug nocodazole, which decreases microtubule dynamics. The ‘gap’ disappeared when cells were treated for 10 minutes with anti-actin drugs (cytochalasin D, latrunculin B, swinholide A), or with the anti-myosin drug 2,3-butanedione 2-monoxime. The ‘gap’ did not disappear when cells were treated with the actin stabilizing drug jasplakinolide. We studied whether these drugs altered spindle actin. We used fluorescent phalloidin to visualize spermatocyte F-actin, which was associated with kinetochore spindle fibers as well as the cell cortex, the contractile ring and finger-like protrusions at the poles. Spindle F-actin was no longer seen after cells were treated with cytochalasin D, swinholide A or a high concentration of latrunculin B, whereas a low concentration of latrunculin B, which did not completely remove the ‘gap’, caused reduced staining of spindle actin. Neither 2,3-butanedione 2-monoxime nor jasplakinolide altered spindle actin. These data suggest that an actomyosin mechanism drives the metaphase poleward tubulin flux.

Cytochalasin D and latrunculin affect chromosome behaviour during meiosis in crane-fly spermatocytes

Living crane-fly spermatocytes were treated with 10-20 microg/ml cytochalasin D (CD) or 0.3 microg/ml latrunculin (LAT) at various stages of meiosis I. The drugs had the same effects on chromosome behaviour, but CD effects were reversible and LAT effects generally were not. When applied in mid-prometaphase to metaphase, both drugs altered subsequent anaphase poleward movements: half-bivalents either moved more slowly than normal, or moved more slowly after a brief period of movement at normal rate or stalled for 10 min or more immediately after disjunction. CD effects were reversible: within 1 min after washing out the CD, stopped chromosomes started moving and slowed chromosomes sped up. When applied in anaphase, both drugs stopped or slowed poleward chromosome movements, usually reversibly. When applied near the end of prophase, both drugs often prevented one or more bivalents in the cell from attaching to the spindle. Attached bivalents behaved as in cells treated with drugs at later stages, as described above. Unattached bivalents in the same cells moved to poles or cytoplasm in early prometaphase, where they remained motionless; at anaphase they sometimes did not disjoin, but when they did disjoin the half-bivalents did not move, either in the continued presence of the drug or when CD was washed out, confirming that they were not atttached. When CD or LAT prevented all bivalents in the cell from attaching, spindles kept in the drug were invaded by granules at about the time of normal anaphase. Conversely, when CD was washed out during late prometaphase, chromosomes often attached to spindle fibres and later entered anaphase. As CD and LAT are different antiactin drugs, but have the same effect on chromosome behaviour, the results implicate actin in early interactions of chromosomes with spindle fibres and in anaphase chromosome movements.

From megakaryocytes to platelets: platelet morphogenesis takes place in the bloodstream

We studied megakaryocyte processes formed in rat bone marrow and spleen, using both the transmission and scanning electron microscopes. Some processes were bulky, others slender and beaded. The bulky megakaryocyte processes developed a specialized arrangement of organelles at the site at which they entered the lumen: filaments present around the outside of the process seemed to support a central cylinder in which organelles flowed along microtubules. Megakaryocyte processes were present in platelet-rich plasma from both human and rat blood. When followed in living preparations, bulky processes developed pointed tips, elongated, and became slender and beaded. Fusiform proplatelets also were present in the platelet rich plasma, with pointed tips at both ends of what appeared to be single "beads"; we assume that the long, beaded megakaryocyte processes would have fragmented were we to have had proper culture conditions. The straight, shorter fusiform proplatelets in living preparations underwent characteristic curving and bending motions, eventually forming disk-shaped cells which sometimes had appendages. This behaviour suggests that the entire process of platelet morphogenesis takes place in plasma: megakaryocyte processes first elongate, then bead and fragment, and then curve and fuse to form disk-shaped platelets. This interpretation is strengthened by finding in freshly isolated plasma many of the shapes seen in the transformations studied in living cell preparations. The megakaryocyte processes and the proplatelets seemed to appear in plasma with a periodicity related to light and dark cycles--that is, with a circadian rhythm. In particular, megakaryocyte processes appear in human blood within a few hours after sunrise; we argue that this might be related to similar peak periods for heart attacks.

Evidence for polewards forces on chromosome arms during anaphase

We have identified new mitotic forces in crane-fly spermatocytes, separate from forces on the kinetochore, that propel chromosome arms in anaphase towards the spindle pole. In normal spermatocytes, the chromosome arms in anaphase generally trail the kinetochore to the pole. After ultraviolet-microbeam irradiation of a kinetochore spindle fibre, however, chromosome arms moved closer to the pole than the kinetochore. This poleward arm-movement occurred regardless of whether the irradiation stopped the movement of the associated chromosomes, and occurred both in chromosomes associated with the irradiated fibre and in chromosomes not associated with the irradiated fibre. Arms that moved ahead of the kinetochore continued to lead the kinetochore to the pole for the duration of anaphase. Ultraviolet-microbeam-irradiation-induced movement of arms ahead of the kinetochore is specific for irradiation of spindle fibres: irradiations of the cytoplasm outside the spindle had no effect, and irradiations of the region between spindle and mitochondrial sheath (that outlines the spindle) and irradiations of the interzonal region are much less effective than irradiations of spindle fibres in causing arms to move. We argue that in crane-fly spermatocytes forces propelling chromosome arms toward the pole are part of normal anaphase.

Coordinated movements between autosomal half-bivalents in crane-fly spermatocytes: evidence that ‘stop’ signals are sent between partner half-bivalents

During anaphase-I in crane-fly spermatocytes, sister half-bivalents separate and move to opposite poles. When we irradiate a kinetochore spindle fibre with an ultraviolet microbeam, the associated half-bivalent temporarily stops moving and so does the partner half-bivalent with which it was paired during metaphase. To test whether a ‘signal’ is transmitted between partner half-bivalents we irradiated the spindle twice, once in the interzone (the region between separating partner half-bivalents) and once in a kinetochore fibre. For both irradiations we used light of wavelength 290 microns and a dose that, after irradiating a spindle fibre only, altered movement in 63% of irradiations (12/19); in 11 of the 12 cells both partner half-bivalents stopped moving after the irradiation. In control experiments we irradiated the interzone only: these irradiations generally did not stop chromosomal poleward motion but sometimes (14/29) caused poleward movement to each pole to be abruptly reduced to about half the velocity prior to irradiation. In double irradiation experiments we varied the order of the irradiations. In some double irradiation experiments we irradiated the interzonal region first and the spindle fibre second; in 75% (9/12) of the cells the half-bivalent associated with the irradiated fibre stopped moving while the partner half-bivalent moved normally, i.e. in 9/12 cells the interzonal irradiations uncoupled the movements of the partner half-bivalents. In other double irradiation experiments we irradiated the spindle fibre first and the interzone second: in 80% (4/5) of the cells the half-bivalents not associated with the irradiated spindle fibre resumed movement immediately after the irradiation while the other half-bivalent remained stopped. Interzonal irradiations therefore uncouple the poleward movements of sister half-bivalents and the uncoupling does not depend on the order of the irradiation. Our experiments suggest therefore that the irradiation of a spindle fibre causes negative (‘stop’) signals to be transmitted across the interzone and that irradiation of the interzone blocks the transmission of the stop signal.