Microtubules are responsible for the asymmetrical distribution of organelles in the oocytes of the hymenopteran, Chrysis ignita.
Previous morphological investigations have shown that the distribution of cellular organelles and reserve materials in hymenopteran oocytes is uneven and often gradient-like. It has been suggested that the microtubular cytoskeleton is responsible for creating and/or maintaining the distribution gradients. To test this hypothesis, adult females of the hymenopteran, Chrysis ignita were treated with a microtubule-assemble inhibitor, colchicine. The experiment resulted in a number of abnormalities observed in the egg chambers: the oocytes were devoid of organelle-free periplasm and oosome; cellular organelles and reserve materials were distributed randomly within the oocyte; nurse cells organization was significantly changed. These observations have confirmed a key role of microtubules in forming and/or maintaining the asymmetry of ooplasm in Chrysis ignita.
Adamska
M
M
Department of Systematic Zoology, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Biliński
S M
SM
D000818:Animals; D003078:Colchicine / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006927:Hymenoptera / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008870:Microtubules / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D017830:Octoxynol; D009865:Oocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D015388:Organelles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010053:Ovary / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016610:Tissue Embedding; D016707:Tissue Fixation
D017830:Octoxynol; D003078:Colchicine