Identification of actin in situ at the ectoplasm-endoplasm interface of Nitella. Microfilament-chloroplast association

Characean internodal cells as a model system for the study of cell organization

Giant internodal cells of characean green algae have been widely used for studying cellular physiology. This review emphasizes their significance for understanding cytoarchitecture and cytoplasmic reorganization. The cytoarchitecture of internodal cells undergoes pronounced, cytoskeleton-dependent changes during development and in response to environmental cues. Under bright light, internodes develop alternating bands of acid and alkaline pH at their surface that correlate with the differential size and abundance of cortical organelles and, in the genus Chara, with the size and distribution of convoluted plasma membrane domains known as charasomes. Wounding induces responses ranging from chloroplast detachment to deposition of wound walls. These properties and the possibility for mechanical manipulation make the internodal cell ideal for exploring plasma membrane domains, organelle interactions, vesicle trafficking, and local cell wall deposition. The significance of this model system will further increase with the application of molecular biological methods in combination with metabolomics and proteomics.

Hydrodynamic property of the cytoplasm is sufficient to mediate cytoplasmic streaming in the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo

Cytoplasmic streaming is a type of intracellular transport widely seen in nature. Cytoplasmic streaming in Caenorhabditis elegans at the one-cell stage is bidirectional; the flow near the cortex ("cortical flow") is oriented toward the anterior, whereas the flow in the central region ("cytoplasmic flow") is oriented toward the posterior. Both cortical flow and cytoplasmic flow depend on non-muscle-myosin II (NMY-2), which primarily localizes in the cortex. The manner in which NMY-2 proteins drive cytoplasmic flow in the opposite direction from remote locations has not been fully understood. In this study, we demonstrated that the hydrodynamic properties of the cytoplasm are sufficient to mediate the forces generated by the cortical myosin to drive bidirectional streaming throughout the cytoplasm. We quantified the flow velocities of cytoplasmic streaming using particle image velocimetry (PIV) and conducted a three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulation using the moving particle semiimplicit method. Our simulation quantitatively reconstructed the quantified flow velocity distribution resolved through PIV analysis. Furthermore, our PIV analyses detected microtubule-dependent flows during the pronuclear migration stage. These flows were reproduced via hydrodynamic interactions between moving pronuclei and the cytoplasm. The agreement of flow dynamics in vivo and in simulation indicates that the hydrodynamic properties of the cytoplasm are sufficient to mediate cytoplasmic streaming in C. elegans embryos.

The sliding theory of cytoplasmic streaming: fifty years of progress

Fifty years ago, an important paper appeared in Botanical Magazine Tokyo. Kamiya and Kuroda proposed a sliding theory for the mechanism of cytoplasmic streaming. This pioneering study laid the basis for elucidation of the molecular mechanism of cytoplasmic streaming--the motive force is generated by the sliding of myosin XI associated with organelles along actin filaments, using the hydrolysis energy of ATP. The role of the actin-myosin system in various plant cell functions is becoming evident. The present article reviews progress in studies on cytoplasmic streaming over the past 50 years.

Visualization of peroxisomes in living plant cells reveals acto-myosin-dependent cytoplasmic streaming and peroxisome budding

Here we examine peroxisomes in living plant cells using transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants expressing the green fluorescent protein (GFP) fused to the peroxisome targeting signal 1 (PTS1). Using time-lapse laser scanning confocal microscopy we find that plant peroxisomes exhibit fast directional movement with peak velocities approaching 10 microm s(-1). Unlike mammalian peroxisomes which move on microtubules, plant peroxisome movement is dependent on actin microfilaments and myosin motors, since it is blocked by treatment with latrunculin B and butanedione monoxime, respectively. In contrast, microtubule-disrupting drugs have no effect on peroxisome streaming. Peroxisomes were further shown to associate with the actin cytoskeleton by the simultaneous visualization of actin filaments and peroxisomes in living cells using GFP-talin and GFP-PTS1 fusion proteins, respectively. In addition, peroxisome budding was observed, suggesting a possible mechanism of plant peroxisome proliferation. The strong signal associated with the GFP-PTS1 marker also allowed us to survey cytoplasmic streaming in different cell types. Peroxisome movement is most intense in elongated cells and those involved in long distance transport, suggesting that higher plants use cytoplasmic streaming to help transport vesicles and organelles over long distances.

Aluminum toxicity studies in Vaucheria longicaulis var. macounii (Xanthophyta, Tribophyceae). II. Effects on the F-actin array

In this study, we test the hypothesis that exposure to environmentally significant concentrations of aluminum (Al, 80 µM) causes the microfilament array of Vaucheria longicaulis var. macounii vegetative filaments to become fragmented and disorganized. Changes in F-actin organization following treatment of vegetative filaments by Al are examined using vital staining with fluorescein phalloidin. In the cortical cytoplasm of the apical zone of pH 7.5 and pH 4.5 control cells, axially aligned bundles of F-actin lead to a region of diffuse, brightly stained material. Dimly stained focal masses are noted deeper in the cytoplasm of the apical zone whereas they are absent from the zone of vacuolation. The F-actin array is visualized in the cortical cytoplasm of the region of the cell, distal to the apical tip, which exhibits vigorous cytoplasmic streaming (zone of vacuolation) as long, axially aligned bundles with which chloroplasts and mitochondria associate. Thirty minutes following treatment with aluminum, and for the next 8-16 h, the F-actin array is progressively disorganized. The longitudinally aligned F-actin array becomes fragmented. Aggregates of F-actin, such as short rods, amorphous and stellate F-actin focal masses, curved F-actin bundles and F-actin rings replace the control array. Each of these structures may occur in association with chloroplasts or independently with no apparent association with organelles. Images are recorded which indicate that F-actin rings not associated with organelles may self-assemble by successive bundling of F-actin fragments. The fragmentation and bundling of F-actin in cells of V. longicaulis upon treatment with aluminum resembles those reported after diverse forms of cell disturbance and supports the hypothesis that aluminum-induced changes in the F-actin array may be a calcium-mediated response to stress.

Aluminum toxicity studies in Vaucheria longicaulis var. macounii (Xanthophyta, Tribophyceae). I. Effects on cytoplasmic organization

Using differential interference contrast (DIC) and epifluorescence microscopy, we tested the hypothesis that exposure to environmentally significant levels of aluminum (Al) would cause rapid changes in cytoplasmic organization in vegetative filaments of the coenocytic alga, Vaucheria longicaulis Hoppaugh var. macounii Blum resulting in the loss of cytoplasmic streaming. In untreated cells, DIC microscopy revealed the presence of cortical cytoplasmic strands that were oriented longitudinally to the cell axis as well as sub-cortical cytoplasmic strands that exhibited a reticulate morphology. Organelles such as chloroplasts and mitochondria translocated throughout the cell in close association with the cortical longitudinal cytoplasmic strands. Staining with the lipophilic dye, 3,3-dihexyloloxacarbocyanine, revealed structures that appeared to be endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This organelle closely resembled, in location and appearance, the cytoplasmic strands visualized using DIC microscopy. The addition of Al (80 µM) resulted in the inhibition of cytoplasmic streaming as well as the dissipation of the putative cortical longitudinal ER within one minute. Subsequently, the DIC-visible cortical cytoplasmic strands exhibited progressive degrees of disorganization. Throughout these changes, chloroplasts and mitochondria remained visibly associated with the cortical cytoplasmic strands.

Role of Ca2+ in membrane excitation and cell motility in Characean cells as a model system

The Characeae internodal cell is excitable and generates an action potential. The depolarizing phase of the action potential primarily reflects the activation of Cl- channels, which takes place in a Ca2+-dependent manner. Namely, an increase in the Ca2+ influx takes place at the very beginning of the action potential and heightens the Ca2+ concentration in the cytoplasm ([Ca2+]c). The high [Ca2+]c activates Cl- channels at the plasmalemma, resulting in a large depolarization. The high [Ca2+]c also acts as a signal to induce a tonoplast action potential and the instantaneous cessation of cytoplasmic streaming; the tonoplast action potential also is caused by Ca2+-induced activation of Cl- channels at the tonoplast, and the cessation is a result of inhibition of the actin-myosin interaction by Ca2+. When the cytoplasm of the Characeae cell, especially in Nitella flexilis, is hydrated rapidly, [Ca2+], also increases through Ca2+ release from an intracellular store(s). The release may be triggered by the stretching of endomembranes caused by osmotic swelling of the Ca2+ store lumens. Although the origin of Ca2+ is different from that in the case of an action potential, high [Ca2+]c not only induces membrane depolarization through activation of the Cl- channel in a Ca2+-dependent manner but also inhibits cytoplasmic streaming in Characeae.

A LIM-domain protein from sunflower is localized to the cytoplasm and/or nucleus in a wide variety of tissues and is associated with the phragmoplast in dividing cells

LIM proteins are important eucaryotic developmental regulators characterized by the presence of one or several double zinc finger motifs, the LIM domains, which are protein-interacting domains. Using the cDNA of the previously described pollen LIM protein PLIM1 from sunflower as a hybridization probe we have isolated the coding sequence for a related protein from cDNA libraries from various sunflower organs. This protein, WLIM1, is 188 amino acids long and, like the pollen protein PLIM1, contains two LIM domains, separated by a 48 residue spacer region. The two sunflower proteins are structurally related to the animal LIM proteins CRP and MLP. A WLIM1 gene transcript was detected by RT-PCR in all vegetative and reproductive plant organs tested. Polyclonal antibodies raised against the bacterially expressed and affinity-purified protein recognize a polypeptide of ca. 50 kDa in these organs. Immunocytochemical studies detect the protein in many cell types in each of these organs where it is localized either to the cytoplasm, the nucleus, or both. The protein is often associated with plastids and smaller cellular structures or organelles. In late anaphase and early telophase of dividing cells from ovaries, stems and roots it accumulates in the phragmoplast, and may therefore also play a role in cytokinesis.

Stationary organization of the actin cytoskeleton in Vallisneria: the role of stable microfilaments at the end walls

In mesophyll cells of the aquatic angiosperm Vallisneria gigantea, bundles of microfilaments (MFs) serve as tracks for the rotational streaming of the cytoplasm, which occurs along the two longer side walls and the two shorter end walls. The stationary organization of these bundles has been shown to depend on the association of the bundles with the plasma membrane at the end walls. To identify the sites of such association, the effects of cytochalasin B (CB) on the configuration of the bundles of MFs were examined. In the case of the side walls, MFs were completely disrupted after treatment with CB at 100 micrograms/ml for 24 hours. By contrast, in the case of the end walls, a number of partially disrupted MFs remained even after 48 hours of treatment. After removal of CB, a completely normal arrangement of bundles of MFs was once again evident within 24 hours after a rather complicated process of reassembly. When reassembly had been completed, the direction of cytoplasmic streaming was reversed only in a small fraction of the treated cells, suggesting that bundles of MFs are anchored and stabilized at the end walls of each cell and that the polarity of reorganized bundles and, therefore, the direction of the cytoplasmic streaming is determined in a manner that depends on the original polarity of MFs that remained in spite of the disruptive action of CB. By contrast, the direction of reinitiated cytoplasmic streaming was reversed in 50% of cells in which the bundles of MFs had been completely disrupted by exogenously applied trypsin prior treatment with CB.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Centrifuge microscope as a tool in the study of cell motility

The centrifuge microscope (CM) is composed of a centrifuge and a microscope optical system designed to observe minute objects, especially living cells, during the application of centrifugal acceleration. Structures and characteristics of various types of CM designed and constructed up to the present and studies done with the CM on cell biology, especially cell motility, are reviewed. These studies include observations of the behavior of cells and cell components in a centrifugal field, determination of the mechanical properties of the cell surface and cytoplasm, microsurgical operations on cells with centrifugal force, and determination of the magnitude and the site of generation of motive force for cell motility.

Detection of gravity-induced polarity of cytoplasmic streaming in Chara

Gravity induces a polarity of cytoplasmic streaming in vertically-oriented internodal cells of characean algae. The motive force that powers cytoplasmic streaming is generated at the ectoplasmic/endoplasmic interface. The velocity of streaming, which is about 100 micrometers/s at this interface, decreases with distance from the interface on either side of the cell to 0 micrometers/s near the middle. Therefore, when discussing streaming velocity it is necessary to specify the tangential plane through the cell in which streaming is being measured. This is easily done with a moderate resolution light microscope (which has a lateral resolution of 0.6 micrometers and a depth of field of 1.4 micrometers), but is obscured when using any low resolution technique, such as low magnification light microscopy or laser Doppler spectroscopy. In addition, the effect of gravity on the polarity of cytoplasmic streaming declines with increasing physiological age of isolated cells. Using a classical mechanical analysis, we show that the effect of gravity on the polarity of cytoplasmic streaming cannot result from the effect of gravity acting directly on individual cytoplasmic particles. We suggest that gravity may best be perceived by the entire cell at the plasma membrane-extracellular matrix junction.

The excitability of plant cells: with a special emphasis on characean internodal cells

This review describes the basic principles of electrophysiology using the generation of an action potential in characean internodal cells as a pedagogical tool. Electrophysiology has proven to be a powerful tool in understanding animal physiology and development, yet it has been virtually neglected in the study of plant physiology and development. This review is, in essence, a written account of my personal journey over the past five years to understand the basic principles of electrophysiology so that I can apply them to the study of plant physiology and development. My formal background is in classical botany and cell biology. I have learned electrophysiology by reading many books on physics written for the lay person and by talking informally with many patient biophysicists. I have written this review for the botanist who is unfamiliar with the basics of membrane biology but would like to know that she or he can become familiar with the latest information without much effort. I also wrote it for the neurophysiologist who is proficient in membrane biology but knows little about plant biology (but may want to teach one lecture on "plant action potentials"). And lastly, I wrote this for people interested in the history of science and how the studies of electrical and chemical communication in physiology and development progressed in the botanical and zoological disciplines.

Plants contain highly divergent actin isovariants

Actin protein isovariants have been identified in animals with distinct cytoplasmic or muscle specific patterns of expression. Analysis of vascular plant actin gene sequences suggests that an even greater diversity should exist within the plant actin protein families, but previous studies on plant proteins have not demonstrated the presence of multiple actin isovariants. Antibodies recognizing a conserved amino-terminal plant actin peptide, a family of plant actin peptides from a variable region, and two monoclonal antibodies to conserved epitopes within animal actins were used to identify isovariants of soybean actin resolved by two-dimensional isoelectric focusing (IEF) sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Approximately six to eight actin isovariants with pI values ranging from 5.1 to 5.8 have been identified from soybean hypocotyls, stems, leaves, and roots with varying amounts of most isovariants present in all four organs. Acidic isovariants were present in much higher levels in leaves and stems. Antisera with lambda-class actin specificity detected a subset of three isovariants in all organs examined. One monoclonal and one antipeptide antisera are shown to react well with a wide variety of plant actin isovariants. Similar patterns of actin isovariants were detected in the distant angiosperms, Arabidopsis, petunia, and maize. It is likely that many of these diverse classes of isovariants have been preserved throughout vascular plant evolution and reflect the ancient diversity within plant actin gene families. The extreme difference among isovariants implies the presence of a complex actin-based cytoskeletal system in plants.

Simultaneous recordings of force and sliding movement between a myosin-coated glass microneedle and actin cables in vitro

To elucidate the molecular mechanism of muscle contraction resulting from the ATP-dependent actin-myosin interaction, we constructed an assay system with which both the force and the movement produced by the actin-myosin interaction in vitro can be simultaneously recorded and analyzed. The assay system consisted of the giant internodal cells of an alga, Nitellopsis obtusa, which contain well-organized arrays of actin filaments (actin cables) running along the cell long axis, and a glass microneedle (tip diameter, approximately 7 microns; elastic coefficient, approximately 40 pN/microns), which was coated with skeletal muscle myosin at the tip and extended from a micromanipulator at right angles with the actin cables. When the myosin-coated tip of the microneedle was brought into contact with the exposed surface of the actin cables, it exhibited ATP-dependent movement along the actin cables over a distance of 20-150 microns in 20-200 s (20-23 degrees C) and eventually stopped due to a balance between forces generated by the actin-myosin interaction (800-6000 pN) and by the bent microneedle. Since the load on the force-generating myosin molecules increased with the bending displacement of the microneedle (auxotonic condition), the relation between the load and the sliding velocity of the myosin heads past the actin cables was determined from the time course of the microneedle movement recorded with a video system. The shape of the force-velocity curve thus obtained was convex upwards, similar to that of the force-velocity curve of intact frog muscle fibers obtained under the auxotonic condition.

Microfilament bundles of F-actin inSpirogyra observed by fluorescence microscopy

Microfilament bundles (MFBs) of F-actin were observed by fluorescence microscopy in cells ofSpirogyra treated with rhodamine-phalloidin. Four types of MFBs could be recognized on the basis of locality and appearance: those dispersed in the cytoplasm near the cell surface; those beneath the plasma membrane running parallel to each other; those at the edges of the chloroplast; and those surrounding the nucleus. Each type exhibited a unique behavior during the cell cycle. Microfilament bundles dispersed in the cytoplasm came together at the middle of the cell to form a fibril ring at the mitotic prophase. The fibril ring decreased in diameter, causing the development of a furrow in the protoplast that progressed from the outside to the inside. After the completion of furrowing, the MFBs in the fibril ring dispersed beneath the plasma membrane. Microfilament bundles surrounding the nucleus formed a net-like cage which became invisible at the mitotic anaphase, while MFBs seen at the chloroplast edges persisted there during the cell cycle without changing their position. Parallel MFBs running perpendicular to the long axis of the cell were seen at all stages in the cell cycle.

Actin of chara giant internodal cells: a single isoform in the subcortical filament bundles and a larger, immunologically related protein in the chloroplasts

Internodal cells of Chara corallina Klein ex. Wild have been studied to determine the number of actin isoforms they contain and whether actin occurs at locations in the cortical cytoplasm outside the filament bundles. A monoclonal antibody to chicken actin is specific for actin in numerous animal cells but binds to two Chara proteins after their separation by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. One protein resembles known actins in relative molecular mass (43,000-M(r)) and isoelectric point (5.5) while the other is distinctly different (58,000-M(r), isoelectric point = 4.8). Because it is indetectable in cells whose actin bundles have been extracted, the 43,000-M(r) protein is assigned to the bundles and concluded to be rare or absent in the remaining cortical cytoplasm. The 58,000-M(r) protein, in contrast, does not extract with the actin bundles. It was localized within the chloroplasts by immunofluorescence and by the dependence of proteolysis on the permeabilization of the chloroplast envelope.

Direct visualization of organelle movement along actin filaments dissociated from characean algae

A system has been developed in which organelle transport can be studied without the influence of an organized cellular cytoplasm. Binding and continuous unidirectional movement of organelles along isolated cellular transport cables were directly visualized by video light microscopy after the dissociation of the cytoplasm of characean algae cells in a Ca2+-free buffer containing adenosine triphosphate. Individual organelles had more than one attachment site and moved at mean rates of 11.2 or 62.1 micrometers per second along multiple parallel pathways on each cable. Electron microscopy of these cables after direct freezing demonstrated that they consist of compact bundles of actin filaments. Under these conditions, characteristics of organelle movement should reflect directly the underlying molecular processes of binding and force generation.

Immobilisation of organelles and actin bundles in the cortical cytoplasm of the alga Chara corallina Klein ex. Wild

The mechanism by which sub-cortical actin bundles and membranous organelles are immobilised in the cortical cytoplasm of the alga Chara was studied by perfusing cells with a solution containing 1% Triton X-100. Light and scanning electron microscopy and the release of starch grains and chlorophyll-protein complexes indicated that the detergent extensively solubilised the chloroplasts. However, the sub-cortical actin bundles remained in situ even though they were originally separated from the plasma membrane by the chloroplasts. A fibrous layer between chloroplasts and plasma membrane became readily visible after detergent extraction of the cells and could be released by low-ionic-strength ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, thioglycollate and trypsin. The same treatments applied to cells not subject to detergent extraction released the membrane-bound organelles and actin bundles and no fibrous meshwork was visible on subsequent extraction with Triton. It is, therefore, concluded that a detergent-insoluble cortical cytoskeleton exists and contributes to the immobility of the actin and cortical organelles in the cells.

Isolation and characterization of circumferential microfilament bundles from retinal pigmented epithelial cells

Chicken retinal pigmented epithelial cells have circumferential microfilament bundles (CMBs) at the zonula adherens region. We have isolated these CMBs in intact form and characterized them structurally and biochemically. Pigmented epithelia obtained from 11-d-old chick embryos were treated with glycerol and Triton. Then, the epithelia were homogenized by passing them through syringe needles. Many isolated CMBs were found in the homogenate by phase-contrast microscopy. They formed polygons, mostly pentagons and hexagons, or fragments of polygons. Polygons were filled with meshwork structures, i.e. they were polygonal plates. Upon exposure to Mg-ATP, isolated CMBs showed clear and large contraction. The contraction was inhibited by treatment with N-ethylmaleimide-modified myosin subfragment-1. After purification by centrifugation with the density gradient of Percoll, CMBs were analyzed by SDS PAGE. The electrophoretic pattern gave three major components of 200, 55, and 42 kdaltons and several minor components. Electron microscopy showed that the polygons were composed of thick bundles of actin-containing microfilaments, and the meshworks were composed primarily of intermediate filaments.

Effects of exogenous proteins on cytoplasmic streaming in perfused Chara cells

Cytoplasmic streaming in characean algae is thought to be generated by interaction between subcortical actin bundles and endoplasmic myosin. Most of the existing evidence supporting this hypothesis is of a structural rather than functional nature. To obtain evidence bearing on the possible function of actin and myosin in streaming, we used perfusion techniques to introduce a number of contractile and related proteins into the cytoplasm of streaming Chara cells. Exogenous actin added at concentrations as low as 0.1 mg/ml is a potent inhibitor of streaming. Deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I), an inhibitor of amoeboid movement and fast axonal transport, does not inhibit streaming in Chara. Fluorescein-DNase I stains stress cables and microfilaments in mammalian cells but does not bind to Chara actin bundles, thus suggesting that the lack of effect on streaming is due to a surprising lack of DNase I affinity for Chara actin bundles. Heavy meromyosin (HMM) does not inhibit streaming, but fluorescein-HMM (FL-HMM), having a partially disabled EDTA ATPase, does. Quantitative fluorescence micrography provides evidence that inhibition of streaming by FL-HMM may be due to a tendency for FL-HMM to remain bound to Chara actin bundles even in the presence of MgATP. Perfusion with various control proteins, including tubulin, ovalbumin, bovine serum albumin, and irrelevant antibodies, does not inhibit streaming. These results support the hypothesis that actin and myosin function to generate cytoplasmic streaming in Chara.

Cellular composition of the rostral pars distalis of the anterior pituitary gland of the alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, during the spawning run

The rostral pars distalis of the anterior pituitary gland of the marine alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, during its annual spawning run to fresh water was examined histologically. The rostral pars distalis is composed of many interconnecting follicles of various sizes. Contrary to earlier reports, the follicular epithelium contains not only prolactin (PRL) cells but corticotropic (ACTH) cell and thyrotropic (TSH) cells (in addition to two nonendocrine cell types). Basally all three endocrine cell types make direct contact with the basement membrane which separates the follicles from the neurohypophysial processes. Apically, however, only the prolactin cells, the largest of the three, protrude into the follicular lumen by means of the small ciliated apical protruberance. All other cellular elements are sealed from the follicular lumen by a layer of covering cells which have properties of transitional epithelial cells. In the follicular epithelium, the slender TSH cells are intercalated between the large conspicuous prolactin cells. The ACTH cells, the smallest of the three endocrine cells, lie in deep invaginations in the basal regions of the individual PRL cells in such a way that on cursory examination they can be mistaken for the nuclei of the latter. Only a small portion of the cellular surface of the ACTH cell escapes the enveloping prolactin cell to make contact with the basement membrane of the follicle. In teleosts, prolactin, ACTH, and TSH have all been implicated in the regulation of hydromineral metabolism and reproductive development. The intimate spatial relation between the three endocrine cells in the alewife rostral pars distalis thus raises the possibility of some functional interactions at the adenohypophysial level, perhaps as an adaptation of this anadromous teleost whose reproductive development and behavior is associated with large changes in ambient salinity. The functional significance of the follicular lumen is discussed together with possible sensory functions of the PRL cells.

Fluorescence studies on modes of cytochalasin B and phallotoxin action on cytoplasmic streaming in Chara

Various investigations have suggested that cytoplasmic streaming in characean algae is driven by interaction between subcortical actin bundles and endoplasmic myosin. To further test this hypothesis, we have perfused cytotoxic actin-binding drugs and fluorescent actin labels into the cytoplasm of streaming Chara cells. Confirming earlier work, we find that cytochalasin B (CB) reversibly inhibits streaming. In direct contrast to earlier investigators, who have found phalloidin to be a potent inhibitor of movement in amoeba, slime mold, and fibroblastic cells, we find that phalloidin does not inhibit streaming in Chara but does modify the inhibitory effect of CB. Use of two fluorescent actin probes, fluorescein, isothiocyanate-heavy meromyosin (FITC-HMM) and nitrobenzoxadiazole-phallacidin (NBD-Ph), has permitted visualization of the effects of CB and phalloidin on the actin bundles. FITC-HMM labeling in perfused but nonstreaming cells has revealed a previously unobserved alteration of the actin bundles by CB. Phalloidin alone does not perceptibly alter the actin bundles but does block the alteration by CB if applied as a pretreatment, NBD-Ph perfused into the cytoplasm of streaming cells stains actin bundles without inhibiting streaming. NBD-Ph staining of actin bundles is not initially observed in cells inhibited by CB but does appear simultaneously with the recovery of streaming as CB leaks from the cells. The observations reported here are consistent with the established effects of phallotoxins and CB on actin in vitro and support the hypothesis that streaming is generated by actin-myosin interactions.

Active movement in vitro of bundle of microfilaments isolated from Nitella cell

Subcortical fibrils composed of bundles of F-actin filaments and endoplasmic filaments are responsible for endoplasmic streaming. It is reported here that these fibrils and filaments move actively in an artificial medium containing Mg-ATP and sucrose at neutral pH, when the medium was added to the cytoplasm squeezed out of the cell. The movement was observed by phase-contrast microscopy or dark-field microscopy and recorded on 16-mm film. Chains of chloroplasts linked by subcortical fibrils showed translational movement in the medium. Even after all chloroplasts and the endoplasm were washed away by perfusion with fresh medium, free fibrils and/or filaments (henceforth, referred to as fibers) not attached to chloroplasts continued travelling in the direction of the fiber orientation. Sometimes the fibers formed rings and rotated. Chloroplast chains and free fibers or rings continued moving for 5-30 min at about half the rate of the endoplasmic streaming in vivo. Calcium ion concentrations < 10(-7) M permitted movement to take place. Electron microscopy revealed that both fibers and rings were bundles of F-actin filaments that showed the same polarity after decoration with heavy meromyosin.

Hormone-induced filopodium formation and movement of pigment, carotenoid droplets, into newly formed filopodia

Treatment of cultured goldfish xanthophores by hormone (ACTH) or c-AMP induces not only pigment dispersion, but subsequent outgrowth of processes, and pigment translocation into these processes. These latter effects are shown to proceed as follows: First the edge of the cytoplasmic lamellae takes on a scalloped contour with numerous protrusions. These presumably serve as nucleation centers where short microfilament bundles are assembled. Later, the microfilament bundles elongate ("grow"), often resulting in an extension of the protrusions to become filopodia while the proximal end of the microfilaments penetrates into the thicker portion of the cellular process which now houses the pigment, i.e., the carotenoid droplets. Carotenoid droplets appear to migrate along the microfilament bundles, or cytoplasmic channels associated with them, into the filopodia. Finally, some of the filopodia become broader, thicker and laden with carotenoid droplets and are then recognized by light microscopy as pigmented cellular processes. The microfilaments have been shown to be actin filaments by their thickness, the size of their subunits, and decoration by heavy meromyosin. Evidence is presented which suggests that the growth of these actin filaments may come about by recruitment from short F-actin strands found in random orientation in adjacent areas.

Actin and cortical fiber reticulation in the siphonaceous alga Vaucheria sessilis

Since light-induced organellae aggregation in the siphonaceous alga Vaucheria sessilis (Vauch.) D.C. is accompanied by the formation of a cortical fiber reticulum in the light, we proposed that this process of reticulation might be causally related to aggregation (Blatt and Briggs, 1980). In this paper we report the tentative identification of actin filaments and filament bundles in the cortical cytoplasm of V. sessilis, and present additional evidence, obtained using the inhibitors cytochalasin B and phalloidin and indicating that aggregation in response to low-intensity point irradiation with blue light is dependent upon the formation of a cortical fiber reticulum. Phalloidin stabilized the cortical fibers, preventing both reticulum formation and organelle aggregation in blue light. Cytochalasin B partially destabilized the cortical fibers to the extent of permitting light-induced reticulum formation and organelle aggregation in the light in the presence of phalloidin.

Evidence of microfilament-associated mitochondrial movement

The mitochondria in the lower Malpighian tubule of the insect Rhodnius prolixus can be stimulated by feeding in vivo and by 5-hydroxytryptamine in vitro, to move from a position below the cell cortex to one inside the apical microvilli. During and following their movement into the microvilli, the mitochondria are intimately associated with the microfilaments of the cell cortex and microvillar core bundle. Bridges approximately 14 nm in length and 4 nm in diameter are observed connecting the microvillar microfilaments to the outer mitochondrial membrane and microvillar plasma membrane. Depolymerization of all visible microtubules with colchicine does not inhibit 5-HT-stimulated mitochondrial movement. On the other hand, treatment with cytochalasin B does block mitochondrial movement, suggesting that microfilaments play a role in the mitochondrial motility. We have labeled the microvillar microfilaments, which are 6 nm in diameter, with heavy meromyosin, which supports the contention that they contain actin. A model of the mechanism of mitochondrial movement is presented in which mitochondria slide into position in the microvilli along actin-containing microfilaments in a manner analogous to the sliding actin-myosin model of skeletal muscle.

Fine-structural studies of the gametes and embryo of Fucus vesiculosus L. (Phaeophyta). III. Cytokinesis and the multicellular embryo

Condensation of the chromosomes during the first cell division following fertilization of the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus L. is accompanied by the almost complete disappearance of the nuclear envelope. Golgi vesicles and other small vesicles appear within the spindle, which has paired centrioles at each end. A large amount of rough endoplasmic reticulum is in the surrounding cytoplasm during mitosis, and many vesicles at the spindle margin are encircled by stacks of endoplasmic reticulum. Annulate lamellae are observed during mitosis. The envelope which initially reforms around the chromatin in telophase has unevenly spaced nuclear pores. Cytokinesis results primarily by vesicle addition to a centripetal furrow. Mitochondria and chloroplasts concentrate around the partition site, possibly in association with microfilaments. Fibrillar material is added rapidly to the space between the daughter cells from vesicle discharge of both cells and seems to spread into the older cell wall surrounding the embryo. The rhizoid daughter cell contains numerous mitochondria and hypertrophied Golgi bodies whose vesicles increasingly pack the cell. The thallus daughter cell is packed with a variety of vesicles, and the nucleus is surrounded by many dilated cisternae of rough endoplasmic reticulum. By the four-cell stage, chloroplasts of the rhizoid cells have weakly staining lamellae, while chloroplasts of the thallus cells are actively dividing with deeply staining lamellae.