Cytokinesis in brown algae: studies of asymmetric division in fucoid zygotes

The mechanism of cytokinesis was investigated during the first asymmetric division in fucoid zygotes. A plate of actin assembled midway between daughter nuclei where microtubules interdigitated and defined the cytokinetic plane. A membrane was then deposited in islands throughout the cytokinetic plane; the islands eventually fused into a continuous partition membrane and cell plate material was deposited in the intermembrane space. All of these structures matured from the center of the cell outward (centrifugal maturation). Pharmacological agents were used to investigate the roles of microtubules, actin, and secretion in cytokinesis. The findings indicate a mechanism of cytokinesis that may be unique to the brown algae.