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Updated: Sep 23, 2025

A Seminiferous Tubule Squash Technique for the Cytological Analysis of Spermatogenesis Using the Mouse Model
Published on: February 6, 2018
Control of meiotic chromosomal bouquet and germ cell morphogenesis by the zygotene cilium
Avishag Mytlis1,2, Vineet Kumar1,2, Tao Qiu3
1Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Medicine, Ein-Kerem Campus, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel.
Abstract:
A hallmark of meiosis is chromosomal pairing, which requires telomere tethering and rotation on the nuclear envelope through microtubules, driving chromosome homology searches. Telomere pulling toward the centrosome forms the "zygotene chromosomal bouquet." Here, we identified the "zygotene cilium" in oocytes. This cilium provides a cable system for the bouquet machinery and extends throughout the germline cyst. Using zebrafish mutants and live manipulations, we demonstrate that the cilium anchors the centrosome to counterbalance telomere pulling. The cilium is essential for bouquet and synaptonemal complex formation, oogenesis, ovarian development, and fertility. Thus, a cilium represents a conserved player in zebrafish and mouse meiosis, which sheds light on reproductive aspects in ciliopathies and suggests that cilia can control chromosomal dynamics.
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