Brief Communication abstract
Nature Cell Biology 4, 811 - 815 (2002)
Published online: 23 September 2002 | doi:10.1038/ncb860
There is an Erratum (November 2002) associated with this Brief Communication.
Site of the previous meiotic division defines cleavage orientation in the mouse embryo
Berenika Plusa1,2,3, Joanna B. Grabarek1,2,4, Karolina Piotrowska1,3, David M. Glover2 & Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz1,2
The conservation of early cleavage patterns in organisms as diverse as echinoderms and mammals suggests that even in highly regulative embryos such as the mouse, division patterns might be important for development1, 2, 3, 4. Indeed, the first cleavage divides the fertilized mouse egg into two cells: one cell that contributes predominantly to the embryonic part of the blastocyst, and one that contributes to the abembryonic part5, 6. Here we show, by removing, transplanting or duplicating the animal or vegetal poles of the mouse egg, that a spatial cue at the animal pole orients the plane of this initial division. Embryos with duplicated animal, but not vegetal, poles show abnormalities in chromosome segregation that compromise their development. Our results show that localized factors in the mammalian egg orient the spindle and so define the initial cleavage plane. In increased dosage, however, these factors are detrimental to the correct execution of division.
- Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Institute, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QR, UK
- Cancer Research UK Cell Cycle Genetics Research Group, University of Cambridge, Department of Genetics, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EH, UK
- Department of Experimental Embryology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Jastrzebiec 05-55, Poland
- Current address: Cyclacel Ltd, Polgen Division, Babraham Bioincubators, Babraham, Cambridge CB2 4AT, UK
Correspondence to: Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz1,2 e-mail: mzg@mole.bio.cam.ac.uk
|
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated REFERENCE REVIEWS NEWS AND VIEWS RESEARCH |
