Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 27, 2025

Spatiotemporal Subcellular Manipulation of the Microtubule Cytoskeleton in the Living Preimplantation Mouse Embryo using Photostatins
08:13

Spatiotemporal Subcellular Manipulation of the Microtubule Cytoskeleton in the Living Preimplantation Mouse Embryo using Photostatins

Published on: November 30, 2021

2.5K

Microtubules During Blastoderm Formation in the Egg of the Silkworm, Bombyx mori L.: (embryogenesis/blastoderm

Sachiko Takesue1, Hiroomi Keino1

  • 1Biological Institute, Faculty of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464 and Institute for Developmental Research, Aichi Prefectural Colony, Kasugai, Aichi 480-03, Japan.

Development, Growth & Differentiation
|June 7, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Microtubules are essential for the migration of silkworm egg energids and blastoderm formation. Inhibiting microtubules with colchicine halts these crucial developmental processes.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cytoskeleton Dynamics

Background:

  • Energids, comprising cleavage nuclei and cytoplasm, migrate within the silkworm egg (Bombyx mori).
  • Understanding the role of cytoskeletal components in energid migration and blastoderm formation is crucial for developmental studies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between microtubules and energid migration during early silkworm embryogenesis.
  • To elucidate the role of microtubules in blastoderm formation.

Main Methods:

  • Electron microscopy was used to observe microtubule organization within silkworm egg cytoplasm.
  • Colchicine, a microtubule inhibitor, was applied to assess its effects on energid migration and blastoderm formation.

Main Results:

  • Microtubules were abundant in energid cytoplasm, even during interphase.
  • Radial microtubule organization from the perinuclear region was observed as energids migrated.
  • Colchicine treatment inhibited energid migration and prevented blastoderm formation.

Conclusions:

  • Microtubules play a critical role in regulating energid migration and subsequent blastoderm formation in Bombyx mori.
  • The dynamic organization of microtubules is essential for successful early embryonic development.

More Related Videos

Use of Immunolabeling to Analyze Stable, Dynamic, and Nascent Microtubules in the Zebrafish Embryo12:38

Use of Immunolabeling to Analyze Stable, Dynamic, and Nascent Microtubules in the Zebrafish Embryo

Published on: September 20, 2017

8.4K
Time-lapse Microscopy of Early Embryogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans07:58

Time-lapse Microscopy of Early Embryogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: August 25, 2011

18.0K

Related Concept Videos

Cleavage and Blastulation01:33

Cleavage and Blastulation

After a large-single-celled zygote is produced via fertilization, the process of cleavage occurs while zygotes travel through the uterine tube. Cleavage is a mitotic cell division that does not result in growth. With each round of successive cell division, daughter cells get increasingly smaller.
45.4K
Spindle Assembly02:50

Spindle Assembly

Spindle assembly occurs through three, often coexisting, pathways – the centrosome-mediated pathway, the chromatin-mediated pathway, and the microtubule-mediated pathway – collectively contributing to form a robust spindle apparatus.
In most cells, centrosomes are the primary microtubule nucleation centers. In the centrosome-mediated pathway, the G2-prophase transition triggers centrosome maturation and increased microtubule nucleation. Progressive nucleation results in a...
3.7K
Microtubule Formation01:23

Microtubule Formation

Microtubules are dynamic structures that undergo continuous assembly and disassembly. They originate from specialized multi-protein complexes known as microtubule organizing centers or MTOCs. Within the MTOC, the point of origin of the microtubule is known as the minus end, while the end radiating outward is the plus end. Microtubules serve two primary functions — the organization of spindle complexes to separate sister chromatids during mitotic or meiotic cell division and the formation...
5.8K
Microtubules in Cell Motility01:24

Microtubules in Cell Motility

Microtubules are thick hollow cylindrical proteins that help form the cytoskeleton. Microtubules have varied roles in the cell. These filaments help form cellular appendages like cilia and flagella, which are responsible for locomotion. The cilia arise from basal bodies, separated from the main body by a membrane-like structure forming the transition zone. This zone is the gate for the entry of lipids and proteins, creating a unique composition of lipids and proteins in the ciliary membrane and...
3.3K
Microtubules01:18

Microtubules

Microtubules are the thickest cytoskeletal filaments with a diameter of 25 nm. In prokaryotic organisms, microtubules are commonly found in locomotory appendages like cilia and flagella. In eukaryotic cells, microtubules form specialized extensions for moving fluid over the surface, like those found in cells lining the intestine.
Microtubules have two structurally similar globular protein subunits: α and β tubulins. In the cytosol, the α and β tubulins form a heterodimer....
7.6K
Role of Microtubules in Cell Wall Deposition01:02

Role of Microtubules in Cell Wall Deposition

Microtubules are small hollow tubes in eukaryotic cells. The cell wall microtubules are polymerized dimers of two globular proteins, α-tubulin and β-tubulin, two globular proteins. With a diameter of about 25 nm, microtubules are the widest components of the cytoskeleton. They help the cell resist compression and provide a track along which vesicles move through the cell or pull replicated chromosomes to opposite ends of a dividing cell. Microtubules go through quick cycles of...
2.5K