Myosin II is the force-generating motor for cytokinesis, and although it is accepted that myosin contractility is greatest at the cell equator, the temporal and spatial cues that direct equatorial contractility are not known. Dividing sea urchin eggs were placed under compression to study myosin II-based contractile dynamics, and cells manipulated in this manner underwent an abrupt, global increase in cortical contractility concomitant with the metaphase-anaphase transition, followed by a brief relaxation and the onset of furrowing. Prefurrow cortical contractility both preceded and was independent of astral microtubule elongation, suggesting that the initial activation of myosin II preceded cleavage plane specification. The initial rise in contractility required myosin light chain kinase but not Rho-kinase, but both signaling pathways were required for successful cytokinesis. Last, mobilization of intracellular calcium during metaphase induced a contractile response, suggesting that calcium transients may be partially responsible for the timing of this initial contractile event. Together, these findings suggest that myosin II-based contractility is initiated at the metaphaseanaphase transition by Ca 2؉ -dependent myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) activity and is maintained through cytokinesis by both MLCK-and Rho-dependent signaling. Moreover, the signals that initiate myosin II contractility respond to specific cell cycle transitions independently of the microtubule-dependent cleavage stimulus. INTRODUCTIONAt its most fundamental level, cytokinesis in animal cells is brought about by regional differences in cortical contractility that drives partitioning of the cytoplasm into two daughter cells (Wang, 2005). Force generation is accomplished by the transient assembly of a contractile ring, and recent genetic and proteomic approaches have significantly increased our knowledge of ring components and regulatory molecules (Echard et al., 2004;Eggert et al., 2004;Skop et al., 2004). Studies in yeast using green fluorescent protein-tagged ring components have demonstrated that ring components are recruited to the division site in a hierarchical manner that involves the progressive assembly of more complex structures (Lippincott and Li, 1998;Wu et al., 2003;Wu and Pollard, 2005). In contrast, the temporal sequence in which ring components are recruited to the division site in animal cells is not as well resolved; thus, it remains unclear whether the contractile ring assembles in a similar sequential manner. Moreover, it is not known how ring assembly is coordinated in space and time with chromosome segregation. Thus, although great advances have been made in our understanding of the contractile ring itself, fundamental gaps remain in our understanding of the spatiotemporal regulation of cytokinesis.The mechanical nature of cytokinesis was appreciated by early cell biologists (Wilson, 1928;Rappaport, 1996), and for decades investigators have taken advantage of the large size and regular geometry of echinoderm eggs to st...
Fertilization triggers a reorganization of oocyte cytoskeleton, and in sea urchins, there is a dramatic increase in cortical F-actin. However, the role that myosin II plays during fertilization remains largely unexplored. Myosin II is localized to the cortical cytoskeleton both before and after fertilization and to examine myosin II contractility in living cells, Lytechinus pictus eggs were observed by time-lapse microscopy. Upon sperm binding, a cell surface deflection traversed the egg that was followed by and dependent on the calcium wave. The calcium-dependence of surface contractility could be reproduced in unfertilized eggs, where mobilization of intracellular calcium in unfertilized eggs under compression resulted in a marked contractile response. Lastly, inhibition of myosin II delayed absorption of the fertilization cone, suggesting that myosin II not only responds to the same signals that activate eggs but also participates in the remodeling of the cortical actomyosin cytoskeleton during the first zygotic cell cycle.
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