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Updated: May 7, 2026
10:01
Production of Xenopus tropicalis Egg Extracts to Identify Microtubule-associated RNAs
Published on: June 27, 2013
Mitotic trigger waves and the spatial coordination of the Xenopus cell cycle
Jeremy B Chang1, James E Ferrell
1Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5174, USA. jbchang@stanford.edu
Nature
|July 19, 2013
Summary
Mitosis spreads through large Xenopus eggs via Cdk1 activity trigger waves, ensuring coordinated cell division. These waves also drive surface contractions preceding cytokinesis, revealing a key mechanism for spatial coordination.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Xenopus laevis eggs are large, yet undergo rapid, spatially coordinated mitosis.
- Mitosis initiation involves a bistable regulatory system centered on Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 1 (Cdk1).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if spatial coordination of mitosis in Xenopus eggs is mediated by Cdk1 activity trigger waves.
- To determine the speed and dynamics of these potential trigger waves.
- To explore the role of Cdk1 trigger waves in surface contraction waves and cytokinesis.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a Xenopus egg extract system for in vitro cell cycle studies.
- Employing time-lapse imaging of intact Xenopus eggs.
- Perturbing Cdk1 feedback loops to observe effects on wave dynamics.
Main Results:
- Mitosis was demonstrated to propagate through Xenopus cytoplasm via trigger waves at ~60 µm/min.
- Modifying Cdk1 feedback loops altered the speed and dynamics of these waves.
- Cdk1 activation trigger waves were linked to surface contraction waves preceding cytokinesis.
Conclusions:
- Cdk1 trigger waves are crucial for the spatiotemporal coordination of mitosis in large Xenopus eggs.
- These waves play a role in the cortical events leading to cell division.
- Trigger waves represent a potential general mechanism for coordinating biochemical processes over extended cellular distances.
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