10 citations found on Fucus polarity (4/28/97):

Development 122 (9): 2623-2630 (1996)

The role of targeted secretion in the establishment of cell polarity and the orientation of the division plane in Fucus zygotes.

Shaw SL, Quatrano RS

Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-3280, USA.

In this study, we investigate the role of polar secretion and the resulting asymmetry in the cell wall in establishing polarity in Fucus zygotes. We have utilized brefeldin-A to selectively interrupt secretion of Golgi-derived material into the cell wall as assayed by toluidine blue O staining of sulfated fucoidin. We show that the polar secretion of Golgi-derived material is targeted to a cortical site of the zygote identified by the localization of actin filaments and dihydropyridine receptors. The deposition of Golgi-derived material into the cell wall at this target site is temporally coincident with and required for polar axis fixation. We propose that local secretion of Golgi-derived material into the cell wall transforms the target site into the fixed site of polar growth. We also found that polar secretion of Golgi-derived material at the fixed site is essential for growth and differentiation of the rhizoid, as well as for the proper positioning of the first plane of cell division. We propose that the resulting asymmetry in the cell wall serves as positional information for the underlying cortex to initiate these polar events. Our data supports the hypothesis that cell wall factors in embryos, previously shown to be responsible for induction of rhizoid cell differentiation, are deposited simultaneously with and are responsible for polar axis fixation. Furthermore, the pattern of polar growth is attributable to a positional signal at the fixed site and appears to be independent of the orientation of the first cell division plane. Thus, the establishment of zygotic cell polarity and not the position of the first division plane, is critical for the formation of the initial embryonic pattern in Fucus. 


J Cell Sci 109 ( Pt 2): 335-342 (1996)

Polar localization of a dihydropyridine receptor on living Fucus zygotes.

Shaw SL, Quatrano RS

Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-3280, USA.

We have used a fluorescently-labeled dihydropyridine (FL-DHP) to vitally stain living Fucus zygotes during the establishment of cell polarity. Localization of FL-DHP is primarily at the plasma membrane and FL-DHP binding is competitively blocked by an unlabeled dihydropyridine. Distribution of FL-DHP is initially symmetrical before fixation of the polar axis, but becomes asymmetrical in response to a unilateral light gradient. The distribution of FL-DHP receptors can be relocalized when the direction of the photopolarizing stimulus is changed. Treatment of cells with cytochalasin B prior to axis fixation reversibly prevents localization of FL-DHP receptors. Observation of FL-DHP labeling by time-lapse fluorescence microscopy indicates that the existing receptors are redistributed during polar axis formation. The asymmetric distribution of FL-DHP receptors coincides temporally and spatially with increased local intracellular calcium ion concentrations, as measured by calcium green dextran. Based on the site, timing, photo-reversibility, and actin dependence of the asymmetric localization of FL-DHP receptors, we conclude that FL-DHP is a vital probe for the later stage of polar axis formation in Fucus zygotes. Furthermore, we propose that FL-DHP receptors correspond to ion channels that are transported to the future site of polar growth to create the changes in local calcium concentration required for polarity establishment. 


Dev Biol 171 (1): 258-261 (1995)

Spatial redistribution of poly(A)+ RNA during polarization of the Fucus zygote is dependent upon microfilaments.

Bouget FY, Gerttula S, Quatrano RS

Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-3280, USA.

Asymmetrical distribution of mRNA has been associated with polarization and cell fate determination during early development of animal embryos. In this report we determine the distribution pattern of poly(A)+ RNA during early embryogenesis of the brown alga Fucus. Poly(A)+ RNA is symmetrically distributed in the egg and early zygote. Shortly after the polar axis is established, poly(A)+ RNA becomes segregated to the thallus pole of the zygote. Following cytokinesis, most of poly(A)+ RNA is partitioned into the thallus cell. We show that the spatial redistribution of poly(A)+ RNA requires intact microfilaments and the fixation of the polar axis, but is not dependent upon polarized growth of the rhizoid, intact microtubules, or orientation of the division plane. 


Zygote 1 (1): 9-15 (1993)

Ratio confocal imaging of free cytoplasmic calcium gradients in polarising and polarised Fucus zygotes.

Berger F, Brownlee C

Ecole Normale Suprieure de Lyon, France.

In the marine brown alga, Fucus, two poles are differentiated before cell division determining the future rhizoid or thallus. We have used a combination of the Ca(2+)-sensitive dye Calcium Green and the pH-sensitive dye SNARF monitored at pH-insensitive wavelengths to obtain confocal ratio images of free cytoplasmic calcium distribution at different stages in polarising Fucus zygotes. These dyes have the advantage that they can be used in most confocal microscopes and their longer excitation wavelengths greatly reduce autofluorescence problems. Dyes of varying molecular weights (free acid form, 10,000 mol.wt or 70,000 mol.wt dextran-conjugated) were pressure microinjected into early zygotes which were allowed to polarise in unidirectional light. Dextran-conjugated dyes remained non-compartmentalised and fluorescence could be monitored for up to 3 days following microinjection. Currently we have been able to detect Ca2+ gradients at the tip of the rhizoid, confirming earlier results. Localised Ca2+ elevations have also been observed at the rhizoid pole of the polarising zygote before the onset of rhizoid germination. Limitations of this technique and the significance of these Ca2+ gradients are discussed. 


Dev Suppl 1: 11-16 (1991)

Polar axis fixation in Fucus zygotes: components of the cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix.

Quatrano RS, Brian L, Aldridge J, Schultz T

Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-3280.

Polar axis formation and polar axis stabilization (or fixation) can be separated and analyzed in synchronously developing zygotes of the brown alga Fucus. Extensive experimental evidence points to a role for both the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix (ECM) in the process of axis fixation in Fucus. A structural complex composed of the cytoskeleton and the ECM has been postulated to stabilize membrane asymmetries generated as a result of axis-forming vectors. This axis stabilizing complex (ASC) may take the form of transmembrane connections between the cytoskeleton on the cytoplasmic face and the ECM on the external side of the plasma membrane, similar to focal contacts in animal cells. At present we know of two components in the proposed ASC of Fucus: an adhesive sulfated glycoprotein which is localized in the ECM, and an actin network which is localized on the adjoining cytoplasmic face. This preliminary report describes evidence for the presence of molecules in two-celled Fucus embryos that are similar to those found in focal contacts in animal cells, i.e. vinculin, integrin and vitronectin. However, their localization and interaction with each other relative to the polar axis has yet to be determined. These initial observations will provide the basis to pursue further an analysis of these components in the process of polar axis fixation. 


Dev Biol 134 (2): 451-461 (1989)

Protein synthesis and morphogenesis are not tightly linked during embryogenesis in Fucus.

Kropf DL, Hopkins R, Quatrano RS

Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331.

Fertilized eggs of the brown alga Fucus have long been used as model organisms for investigating the early events in the establishment of polarity and subsequent embryogenesis since large numbers of zygotes can easily be obtained. We have analyzed protein synthesis in eggs and embryos during the first day of development using two-dimensional gels and found that synthesis of 12 of the 60 most prominent proteins changed either qualitatively or quantitatively. Actin and beta-tubulin were identified by immunoblotting; synthesis of these cytoskeletal proteins was initiated at different times during the first 12 hr of development. Unique, reproducible patterns of protein synthesis observed during development in the light permitted accurate staging of developing embryos. Inhibitors such as cytochalasin and sucrose, however, blocked morphogenesis without affecting protein synthesis, and, conversely, growth in the dark delayed protein synthesis but had very little effect on the timing of morphogenesis. The data are consistent with morphogenesis and protein synthesis being relatively independent during early embryogenesis. Actinomycin D added soon after fertilization had no effect on protein synthesis 1 day later, indicating that the proteins analyzed were encoded by maternal mRNA stored in the egg. 


J Cell Sci Suppl 2: 129-141 (1985)

Cytological and biochemical requirements for the establishment of a polar cell.

Quatrano RS, Griffing LR, Huber-Walchli V, Doubet RS

Our research is aimed at understanding the biochemical and cytological basis of cell polarity in zygotes of the brown alga, Fucus distichus L. Powell. One manifestation of this polar cell is the localization of a sulphated fucan polysaccharide (F2) in only one region of the zygote cell surface, the rhizoid cell wall. The focus of this paper is centered around the mechanism responsible for the directional transport of Golgi vesicles containing F2 and the biochemical properties of F2 that might specify its localized fate. Recent findings indicate that the various sulphated polysaccharides in the brown algae are complexes resulting from linkages of two basic polymers: an alpha-(1----2)-linked fucan that contains high levels of ester sulphate (F3), and a uronic acid-rich polymer (F1). The fucan complex F2, which is localized in the rhizoid wall, is composed of a fucan sulphate core (F3) to which uronic acid polymers (similar to F1) are attached. Our results, using a purified endoguluronate lyase, indicate that guluronate bridges link these subunits of F2. The carbon backbone of F2 is not synthesized de novo after fertilization. However, F2 is sulphated, and possibly assembled, beginning 10 h after fertilization, after which it is locally inserted into the rhizoid wall, and held in the wall structure only by calcium ionic bonds. Although sulphation is required for localization of F2, it is not known if the uronic acid side-chains are also assembled at the time of sulphation, and/or required for localization. The fact that F3 (F2 without the side-chains) is secreted uniformly into the zygote wall suggests that the uronic acid chains of F2 may play a critical role in its localization. A sulphated F2 alone is not sufficient for its localization since in the presence of cytochalasin, vesicles containing F2 are not transported to the rhizoid. Recent studies point to a central role for a cytoskeletal element, possibly microfilaments, in the directional transport of these vesicles. We have used the techniques of isoelectric focusing and electrophoretic mobility to study surface charge of these Golgi vesicles to determine if charge might be one factor that specifies their localization. Vesicles that contain the sulphated fucan F3 are secreted randomly and have the same surface charge as those containing F2 that are directionally transported. However, there is no stable endogenous electrical current at the time when F3 vesicles are randomly secreted, whereas a current is detectable when F2 vesicles are localized. 


Dev Biol 40 (1): 162-173 (1974)

The relationship between changes in cell wall composition and the establishment of polarity in Fucus embryos.

Novotny AM, Forman M




Biophysik 9 (3): 253-260 (1973)

Orientation of Fucus egg polarity by electric a.c. and d.c. fields.

Novak B, Bentrup FW




Naturwissenschaften 53 (5): 138 (1966)

Regional concentration of cytoplasmic RNA in fucus eggs in relation to polarity.

Nakazawa S