Microtubules are responsible for the asymmetrical distribution of organelles in the oocytes of the hymenopteran, Chrysis ignita
Adamska, M.; Biliński, S.M.
Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica 35(4): 221-225
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0239-8508 PMID: 9619422 Document Number: 472109
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.