Relocation of mitochondria to the prospective dorsal marginal zone during Xenopus embryogenesis.
Dorsal-ventral axis formation in Xenopus laevis begins with a cytoplasmic rotation during the first cell cycle and culminates in a series of cell interactions and movements during gastrulation and neurulation that lead to the formation of dorsal-anterior structures. Evidence reported here indicates that mitochondria are differentially redistributed along the prospective dorsal-ventral axis as a consequence of the cortical-cytoplasmic rotation during the first cell cycle. This finding reinvigorates a possibility that has been considered for many years: asymmetries in cytoplasmic components and metabolic activities contribute to the development of morphological asymmetries.
Yost
H J
HJ
Department of Cell Biology and Neuroanatomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455, USA.
Phillips
C R
CR
Boore
J L
JL
Bertman
J
J
Whalon
B
B
Danilchik
M V
MV
D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001757:Blastomeres / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D002453:Cell Cycle; D016764:Cell Polarity; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005306:Fertilization; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000502:physiology*; D009024:Morphogenesis; D009865:Oocytes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000196:embryology*; D015053:Zygote / Q000648:ultrastructure*
D018076:DNA, Complementary