Dynamics of paternal chromatin changes in live one-cell mouse embryo after natural fertilization

Using video-enhanced fluorescence microscopy, we describe in live mouse zygotes the paternal chromatin changes undergone after fertilization. We focus on the sperm recondensation process and the formation of the paternal pronucleus, in relationship with the progression of maternal chromatin. Chromatin is labeled with the vital fluorophore Hoechst 33342. Our conditions of dye concentration and irradiation allow a continuous following of the dynamics of changes without major perturbation. We combine these observations with ultrastructural analysis performed by electron microscopy of the same eggs fixed at chosen stages. We show that the highly recondensed state corresponds to the appearance of the nuclear envelope and therefore the beginning of the pronuclear stage.