The Drosophila gene torso encodes a putative receptor tyrosine kinase

The maternal gene torso, required for determination of anterior and posterior terminal structures in the Drosophila embryo, was cloned using P-element tagging. Genetic evidence suggests that the action of the gene product is spatially restricted to the terminal regions; the torso messenger RNA, however, is evenly distributed. Structural similarities of the predicted torso protein with growth-factor receptor tyrosine kinases suggest that the spatial restriction of torso activity results from a localized activation of the torso protein at the anterior and posterior egg pole.     

Localized maternal orthodenticle patterns anterior and posterior in the long germ wasp Nasonia

The Bicoid (Bcd) gradient in Drosophila has long been a model for the action of a morphogen in establishing embryonic polarity. However, it is now clear that bcd is a unique feature of higher Diptera. An evolutionarily ancient gene, orthodenticle (otd), has a bcd-like role in the beetle Tribolium. Unlike the Bcd gradient, which arises by diffusion of protein from an anteriorly localized messenger RNA, the Tribolium Otd gradient forms by translational repression of otd mRNA by a posteriorly localized factor. These differences in gradient formation are correlated with differences in modes of embryonic patterning. Drosophila uses long germ embryogenesis, where the embryo derives from the entire anterior-posterior axis, and all segments are patterned at the blastoderm stage, before gastrulation. In contrast, Tribolium undergoes short germ embryogenesis: the embryo arises from cells in the posterior of the egg, and only anterior segments are patterned at the blastoderm stage, with the remaining segments arising after gastrulation from a growth zone. Here we describe the role of otd in the long germband embryo of the wasp Nasonia vitripennis. We show that Nasonia otd maternal mRNA is localized at both poles of the embryo, and resulting protein gradients pattern both poles. Thus, localized Nasonia otd has two major roles that allow long germ development. It activates anterior targets at the anterior of the egg in a manner reminiscent of the Bcd gradient, and it is required for pre-gastrulation expression of posterior gap genes.     

The Drosophila posterior-group gene nanos functions by repressing hunchback activity

The development of the body plan in the Drosophila embryo depends on the activity of maternal determinants localized at the anterior and posterior of the egg. These activities define both the polarity of the anterior-posterior (AP) axis and the spatial domains of expression of the zygotic gap genes, which in turn control the subsequent steps in segmentation. The nature and mode of action of one anterior determinant, the bicoid(bcd) gene product, has recently been defined, but the posterior determinants are less well characterized. At least seven maternally acting genes are required for posterior development. Mutations in these maternal posterior-group genes result in embryos lacking all abdominal segments. Cytoplasmic transplantation studies indicate that the maternally encoded product of the nanos(nos) gene may act as an abdominal determinant, whereas the other maternal posterior-group genes appear to be required for the appropriate localization and stabilization of this signal. Here we show that the lack of the nos gene product can be compensated for by eliminating the maternal activity of the gap gene hunchback (hb). Embryos lacking both of these maternally derived gene products are viable and can survive as fertile adults. These results suggest that the nos gene product functions by repressing the activity of the maternal hb products in the posterior of the egg.     

Translocation of a localized maternal mRNA to the vegetal pole of Xenopus oocytes

A prominent hypothesis in embryology is that localized maternal factors are important in specifying cell fate. There are, however, only a few examples of maternal molecules that have been shown to be localized and very little is known about how such factors are physically localized within an egg (for review see ref. 1). Previously, cDNA clones were obtained for a class of localized maternal mRNAs from Xenopus laevis. These mRNAs are unusual in that they are concentrated at either the animal or vegetal pole of unfertilized eggs. In the present study the synthesis and intracellular distribution of one of them, Vg1, has been examined during oogenesis. The results show that Vg1 mRNA is localized as a crescent at the vegetal pole of mature oocytes. Surprisingly, this mRNA is uniformly distributed in the cytoplasm of immature oocytes. These findings suggest that a single cell, the frog oocyte, has some mechanism for translocating specific RNAs like Vg1. The process that moves Vg1 mRNA is evidently a cytoplasmic localization machinery which is not directly coupled to the synthesis of Vg1 RNA.     

The Xenopus localized messenger RNA An3 may encode an ATP-dependent RNA helicase

The maternal messenger RNA An3 was originally identified localized to the animal hemisphere of Xenopus laevis oocytes, eggs and early embryos. Xenopus embryos depend on mRNA and protein present in the egg before fertilization (maternal molecules) to provide the information needed for early development. Localization of maternal mRNA gives cells derived from different regions of the egg distinctive capacities for protein synthesis. We show here that An3 mRNA encodes a protein with 74% identity to a protein encoded by the testes-specific mRNA PL10 found in mouse, which is proposed to have RNA helicase activity. Because the gene encoding An3 mRNA is reactivated after gastrulation and remains active throughout embryogenesis, we have examined its distribution in embryonic and adult tissues. Unlike PL10 mRNA, which is primarily restricted to the testes, An3 mRNA is broadly distributed in later development.     

brinker is a target of Dpp in Drosophila that negatively regulates Dpp-dependent genes

Growth and patterning of the Drosophila wing is controlled in part by the long-range organizing activities of the Decapentaplegic protein (Dpp). Dpp is synthesized by cells that line the anterior side of the anterior/posterior compartment border of the wing imaginal disc. From this source, Dpp is thought to generate a concentration gradient that patterns both anterior and posterior compartments. Among the gene targets that it regulates are optomotor blind (omb), spalt (sal), and daughters against dpp (dad). We report here the molecular cloning of brinker (brk), and show that brk expression is repressed by dpp. brk encodes, a protein that negatively regulates Dpp-dependent genes. Expression of brk in Xenopus embryos indicates that brk can also repress the targets of a vertebrate homologue of Dpp, bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP-4). The evolutionary conservation of Brk function underscores the importance of its negative role in proportioning Dpp activity.     

Independent inactivation of MPF and cytostatic factor (Mos) upon fertilization of Xenopus eggs.

In vertebrates, mature eggs are arrested at the second meiotic metaphase by the cytostatic factor (CSF), now known to be the c-mos proto-oncogene product (Mos). Fertilization or egg activation triggers a transient increase in the cytoplasmic free calcium and releases the meiotic arrest by inactivating maturation/mitosis-promoting factor (MPF). CSF or Mos, which is also inactivated by the calcium transient, seems to stabilize MPF in mature eggs and CSF-injected embryos. Thus, it was assumed that CSF inactivation is the primary cause of MPF inactivation on meiotic release. We have directly compared the degradation kinetics of CSF (Mos) and MPF during meiotic release, using the same batch of Xenopus eggs. We report here that, at the molecular level, cyclin subunits of MPF are degraded before Mos is degraded and, at the physiological level, that MPF activity is inactivated before CSF activity during activation of Xenopus eggs. These results, in conjunction with circumstantial evidence, support the novel view that a calcium transient on fertilization induces a CSF-independent pathway for MPF inactivation, whereas CSF inactivation during meiotic release serves only to allow the fertilized egg to enter mitosis.     

Induction of germ cell formation by oskar.

The oskar gene directs germ plasm assembly and controls the number of germ cell precursors formed at the posterior pole of the Drosophila embryo. Mislocalization of oskar RNA to the anterior pole leads to induction of germ cells at the anterior. Of the eight genes necessary for germ cell formation at the posterior, only three, oskar, vasa and tudor, are essential at an ectopic site.     

Segmentation in the vertebrate nervous system

Although there is good evidence that growing axons can be guided by specific cues during the development of the vertebrate peripheral nervous system, little is known about the cellular mechanisms involved. We describe here an example where axons make a clear choice between two neighbouring groups of cells. Zinc iodide-osmium tetroxide staining of chick embryos reveals that motor and sensory axons grow from the neural tube region through the anterior (rostral) half of each successive somite. 180 degrees antero-posterior rotation of a portion of the neural tube relative to the somites does not alter this relationship, showing that neural segmentation is not intrinsic to the neural tube. Furthermore, if the somitic mesoderm is rotated 180 degrees about an antero-posterior axis, before somite segmentation, axons grow through the posterior (original anterior) half of each somite. Some difference therefore exists between anterior and posterior cells of the somite, undisturbed by rotation, which determines the position of axon outgrowth. It is widespread among the various vertebrate classes.     

Polarity controls forces governing asymmetric spindle positioning in the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo

Cell divisions that create daughter cells of different sizes are crucial for the generation of cell diversity during animal development. In such asymmetric divisions, the mitotic spindle must be asymmetrically positioned at the end of anaphase. The mechanisms by which cell polarity translates to asymmetric spindle positioning remain unclear. Here we examine the nature of the forces governing asymmetric spindle positioning in the single-cell-stage Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. To reveal the forces that act on each spindle pole, we removed the central spindle in living embryos either physically with an ultraviolet laser microbeam, or genetically by RNA-mediated interference of a kinesin. We show that pulling forces external to the spindle act on the two spindle poles. A stronger net force acts on the posterior pole, thereby explaining the overall posterior displacement seen in wild-type embryos. We also show that the net force acting on each spindle pole is under control of the par genes that are required for cell polarity along the anterior-posterior embryonic axis. Finally, we discuss simple mathematical models that describe the main features of spindle pole behaviour. Our work suggests a mechanism for generating asymmetry in spindle positioning by varying the net pulling force that acts on each spindle pole, thus allowing for the generation of daughter cells with different sizes.     

肝片形吸虫成虫及虫卵的扫描电镜观察

本文应用扫描电镜系统观察了肝片形吸虫的体表结构和虫卵.1.在口腔内壁上密市有细绒毛,其间还有很多小孔.2.肝片形吸虫的体棘在头锥部份排列整齐而有规则,共有60圈,每圈60～70个.在腹吸盘以后的体棘则规律不明显.3.本文将观察到的不同形态的体棘,按其发育过程分为初生期,早期,中期及后期体棘四类,它们的末端都呈锯齿状.体棘窝较浅.因此体棘较易脱落.4.在张开的生殖腔中,同时观察到了雌雄生殖系统的2个开口,并对伸出体外的阴茎进行了描述.5.肝片形吸虫卵的表面光滑,但在其外膜脱落后则有散在性的小凹陷;卵盖与卵壳连接处虽不很整齐,但并不呈锯齿状.约60%的虫卵后端也具有小结节.     

Posterior-to-anterior transformation in engrailed wing imaginal disks of Drosophila

Segments in the Drosophila adult are divided into clonally distinct anterior and posterior compartments. Mutations at the engrailed locus can affect the pattern of cuticular structures in the posterior compartments of segments, but have no obvious effect on anterior structures; for example, bristles that are normally seen only on the anterior wing margin in wild-type flies can be found on the posterior margin of engrailed wings. These and clonal analysis data led to the hypothesis that engrailed causes a transformation of posterior to anterior identity in the wing cells. Despite some striking examples of this transformation, a common engrailed phenotype is the disruption or elimination of posterior pattern elements, without a clear replacement by anterior structures; this, together with indications that localized cell death can mimic some of the observed posterior-to-anterior transformations, has led some investigators to question the original engrailed hypothesis. Recently, monoclonal antibodies displaying region-specific binding patterns on the wing imaginal disk have been described, and one of these antibodies in particular provides a novel probe for the engrailed phenotype in the larval precursors of the adult wing. Here I compare the antibody binding patterns on engrailed and wild-type wing disks. The results strongly support the notion that engrailed mutations cause a posterior-to-anterior transformation in these cells.     

Krüppel requirement for knirps enhancement reflects overlapping gap gene activities in the Drosophila embryo

Segmental pattern formation in Drosophila proceeds in a hierarchical manner whereby the embryo is stepwise divided into progressively finer regions until it reaches its final metameric form. Maternal genes initiate this process by imparting on the egg a distinct antero-posterior polarity and by directing from the two polar centres the activities of the zygotic genes. The anterior system is strictly dependent on the product of the maternal gene bicoid (bcd), without which all pattern elements in the anterior region of the embryo fail to develop. The posterior system seems to lack such a morphogen. Rather, the known posterior maternal determinants simply define the boundaries within which abdominal segmentation can occur, and the process that actively generates the abdominal body pattern may be entirely due to the interactions between the zygotic genes. The most likely candidates among the zygotic genes that could fulfil the role of initiating the posterior pattern-forming process are the gap genes, as they are the first segmentation genes to be expressed in the embryo. Here we describe the interactions between the gap genes Krüppel (Kr), knirps (kni) and tailless (tll). We show that kni expression is repressed by tll activity, whereas it is directly enhanced by Kr activity. Thus, Kr activity is present throughout the domain of kni expression and forms a long-range protein gradient, which in combination with kni activity is required for abdominal segmentation of the embryo.     

拟松材线虫个体发育研究

【目的】探索拟松材线虫(Bursaphelenchus mucronatus)的繁殖能力,并对其胚胎发育过程中经历的重要阶段和卵的形态变化进行研究,了解胚胎发育和完成整个生活史所需时间,为进一步研究其生长发育并进行有效防控提供参考。【方法】分别挑取3组180条拟松材线虫雌成虫,观察记录雌虫在25 ℃条件下的产卵情况,每隔2 h统计每组线虫的累积产卵量,直至卵的数量基本不再增加。挑取尚未产卵的拟松材线虫雌虫于载玻片上,待其产卵后,将卵置于蔡司体视显微镜下观察。连续观察胚胎的发育过程并使用照片记录不同发育阶段胚胎的形态变化,记录卵发育至不同阶段所需时间。挑取约200个刚产下的拟松材线虫卵,在25 ℃条件下发育24 h后每隔4 h统计其总孵化率,直至孵化数不再增加,设置3组重复。将刚孵化的2龄幼虫接种于灰葡萄孢(Botrytis cinerea)上,分为3组,每组设置3个重复,分别在接种1、2、3 d后使用贝尔曼漏斗法收集线虫,计算混合龄线虫中每龄期线虫所占比例,计算拟松材线虫胚后发育及完成整个生活史所需时间。【结果】① 在拟松材线虫产卵能力方面,0~10 h拟松材线虫产卵总量增长较快,16 h后产卵量逐渐趋于稳定,28 h内雌虫平均累积产卵12粒/条。② 拟松材线虫的胚胎发育过程主要经历以下几个关键阶段:单胞期、双胞期、3胞期、4胞期、5胞期、8胞期、16胞期、囊胚期、利马豆期、蝌蚪期、蠕虫期、1龄幼虫(J1),至孵化为2龄幼虫(J2)时结束。③ 在胚胎发育前期,第1次卵裂发生的位置存在两种情况,即卵的1/2和1/3处。双胞发育至5胞时也存在两种不同的发育方式,一种是双胞不移动直接分裂成3胞并列排列,另外一种是细胞进行移动,3胞呈三角形排列。通过观察30个卵的第1次卵裂和100个卵双胞的发育过程发现,这些不同的发育方式均是普遍存在的。④ 在25 ℃条件下,拟松材线虫卵的累积孵化率随时间增加而增加,在32 h时达到最高(93.31%),随后逐渐趋于稳定。⑤ 在25 ℃条件下记录了拟松材线虫卵从单胞发育至各个阶段的时间,完成整个胚胎发育过程需要约28 h。2龄幼虫接种于灰葡萄孢3 d后即可获得新的2龄幼虫,因此拟松材线虫完成整个生活史只需要3 d。【结论】对拟松材线虫卵从单胞阶段直至孵化的整个胚胎发育过程进行观察发现,拟松材线虫完成胚胎发育大约需要28 h,完成整个生活史需要3 d。对拟松材线虫产卵能力和卵的孵化率进行统计,收集拟松材线虫卵和2龄幼虫的最佳时间分别为16 h和36 h。拟松材线虫胚胎发育前期,在第1次卵裂期以及由双胞期发育至5胞期的两个过程中均存在两种与同属线虫不同的发育方式。这种现象还有待进一步研究。     

Borders of parasegments in Drosophila embryos are delimited by the fushi tarazu and even-skipped genes

One of the earliest molecular signs of segmentation in Drosophila embryos is the striped expression of some pair-rule genes during the blastoderm stage. Two of these genes, fushi-tarazu (ftz) and even-skipped (eve) are expressed during this stage in complementary patterns of seven stripes which develop and disappear in concert. Here, we map the cells expressing each of these two pair-rule genes with respect to the 14 stripes of cells expressing the engrailed gene. We find that both ftz and eve generate stripes which have sharp boundaries at the anterior margin, but fade away posteriorly. The anterior boundaries correspond cell by cell with the anterior boundaries of expression of the engrailed gene. We therefore suggest that a key function of early ftz and eve gene activity is the formation of a sharp stable boundary at the anterior margin of each stripe. These boundary lines, rather than the narrowing zonal stripes, would delimit the anterior boundaries of engrailed and other homoeotic genes and thereby subdivide the embryo into parasegments.     

Fertilization potential in golden hamster eggs consists of recurring hyperpolarizations

The fertilization potential, or activation potential, has been demonstrated in the eggs of various species, and it has been shown to block polyspermy in echinoderm, echiuran and frog eggs, but no studies have been reported of electrical phenomena occurring when mammalian eggs are fertilized. We report here the fertilization potential of golden hamster eggs in vitro. To correlate the change of potential with the interaction between sperm and egg, only one sperm was attached to each egg. We found that a sperm induces recurring hyperpolarizations, constituting a fertilization potential which differs from that in the eggs of other species.