1 Genes
| WormBase Gene ID | Gene Name | Sequence Name | Organism |
|---|---|---|---|
| WBGene00003777 | nmy-2 | F20G4.3 | Caenorhabditis elegans |
| Primary Identifier | Expr3433 | Subcellular Localization | As the embryo completes meiosis II, the sperm MTOC becomes visible in the posterior half of the embryo and moves into close association with the cortex. The sperm MTOC either appears and remains at the posterior pole or appears at an abaxial position before shifting to the posterior pole; this variation presumably reflects variation in the site of sperm entry. Regardless of its initial position, there was an immediate cessation in the formation of new NMY-2::GFP foci in the cortical region nearest the sperm MTOC. Existing foci and smaller filaments in this region moved rapidly and radially away from the sperm MTOC, generating a posterior zone devoid of foci and with a relatively smooth surface membrane. At the same time, foci throughout the cortex began to move toward the opposite, anterior pole at speeds up to 7.66 +/- 1.0 um/min (n = 6). Local clusters or chains of foci and interfoci continued their apparent contractions while moving collectively to the anterior, generating waves of surface invaginations previously described as ruffling. The general, anterior movement of foci was altered in the vicinity of pronounced surface contractions, where local foci moved transiently toward the contraction. The anterior flow generated a focus-rich anterior cap and a complementary posterior clear zone containing only small, dispersed filaments. Within the anterior cap, individual foci continued to coalesce, move and disappear with lifetimes similar to those seen in earlier embryos. Within the posterior clear zone, small filaments moved toward the anterior, and appeared to coalesce into new foci near the posterior rim of the anterior cap. This posterior rim eventually constricted about the circumference of the egg to form the pseudocleavage furrow. Thus a local change in the assembly/disassembly dynamics of NMY-2::GFP foci near the sperm MTOC, plus a continuous flow of NMY-2::GFP-containing structures away from the sperm MTOC, results in an enrichment of NMY-2::GFP at the anterior cortex. Near the end of meiosis II, but prior to the onset of cortical flows, NMY-2::GFP was enriched throughout the cortex in a dynamic network of filaments and numerous dense foci. Individual foci appeared to coalesce from an initially dispersed population of smaller filaments. Once formed, foci moved short distances toward or away from one another before disappearing again, with average lifetimes of 117.9 39.8 s (n = 66 foci in 3 embryos). Neighboring foci were often linked by thicker filaments that were called interfoci. Variably shaped clusters or chains of foci and interfoci often appeared to contract simultaneously, and these contractions were associated with shallow, transient invaginations in the surface of the embryo. Previous immunostaining studies did not detect an enrichment of NMY-2 at the anterior cortex during the first cell cycle. These experiments were repeated using the fixation and staining conditions in this article and endogenous NMY-2 was indeed distributed in the same, asymmetrical pattern as described here for NMY-2::GFP in living embryos. |
| WormBase Gene ID | Gene Name | Sequence Name | Organism |
|---|---|---|---|
| WBGene00003777 | nmy-2 | F20G4.3 | Caenorhabditis elegans |
