Cortical microtubule nucleation can organise the cytoskeleton of Drosophila oocytes to define the anteroposterior axis
Many cells contain non-centrosomal arrays of microtubules (MTs), but the assembly, organisation and function of these arrays are poorly understood. We present the first theoretical model for the non-centrosomal MT cytoskeleton in Drosophila oocytes, in which bicoid and oskar mRNAs become localised t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd.
2015
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/99665 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8865-2369 |
| _version_ | 1811096591678832640 |
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| author | Khuc Trong, Philipp Dunkel, Joern Doerflinger, Helene St. Johnston, Daniel Goldstein, Raymond E. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics Khuc Trong, Philipp Dunkel, Joern Doerflinger, Helene St. Johnston, Daniel Goldstein, Raymond E. |
| author_sort | Khuc Trong, Philipp |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Many cells contain non-centrosomal arrays of microtubules (MTs), but the assembly, organisation and function of these arrays are poorly understood. We present the first theoretical model for the non-centrosomal MT cytoskeleton in Drosophila oocytes, in which bicoid and oskar mRNAs become localised to establish the anterior-posterior body axis. Constrained by experimental measurements, the model shows that a simple gradient of cortical MT nucleation is sufficient to reproduce the observed MT distribution, cytoplasmic flow patterns and localisation of oskar and naive bicoid mRNAs. Our simulations exclude a major role for cytoplasmic flows in localisation and reveal an organisation of the MT cytoskeleton that is more ordered than previously thought. Furthermore, modulating cortical MT nucleation induces a bifurcation in cytoskeletal organisation that accounts for the phenotypes of polarity mutants. Thus, our three-dimensional model explains many features of the MT network and highlights the importance of differential cortical MT nucleation for axis formation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:46:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/99665 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:46:07Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd. |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/996652022-10-03T08:10:17Z Cortical microtubule nucleation can organise the cytoskeleton of Drosophila oocytes to define the anteroposterior axis Khuc Trong, Philipp Dunkel, Joern Doerflinger, Helene St. Johnston, Daniel Goldstein, Raymond E. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics Dunkel, Joern Many cells contain non-centrosomal arrays of microtubules (MTs), but the assembly, organisation and function of these arrays are poorly understood. We present the first theoretical model for the non-centrosomal MT cytoskeleton in Drosophila oocytes, in which bicoid and oskar mRNAs become localised to establish the anterior-posterior body axis. Constrained by experimental measurements, the model shows that a simple gradient of cortical MT nucleation is sufficient to reproduce the observed MT distribution, cytoplasmic flow patterns and localisation of oskar and naive bicoid mRNAs. Our simulations exclude a major role for cytoplasmic flows in localisation and reveal an organisation of the MT cytoskeleton that is more ordered than previously thought. Furthermore, modulating cortical MT nucleation induces a bifurcation in cytoskeletal organisation that accounts for the phenotypes of polarity mutants. Thus, our three-dimensional model explains many features of the MT network and highlights the importance of differential cortical MT nucleation for axis formation. Solomon Buchsbaum AT&T Research Fund 2015-11-02T20:03:05Z 2015-11-02T20:03:05Z 2015-09 2014-12 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2050-084X http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/99665 Khuc Trong, Philipp, Helene Doerflinger, Jorn Dunkel, Daniel St Johnston, and Raymond E Goldstein. “Cortical Microtubule Nucleation Can Organise the Cytoskeleton of Drosophila Oocytes to Define the Anteroposterior Axis.” eLife 4 (September 25, 2015). https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8865-2369 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.06088 eLife Creative Commons Attribution http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd. eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd. |
| spellingShingle | Khuc Trong, Philipp Dunkel, Joern Doerflinger, Helene St. Johnston, Daniel Goldstein, Raymond E. Cortical microtubule nucleation can organise the cytoskeleton of Drosophila oocytes to define the anteroposterior axis |
| title | Cortical microtubule nucleation can organise the cytoskeleton of Drosophila oocytes to define the anteroposterior axis |
| title_full | Cortical microtubule nucleation can organise the cytoskeleton of Drosophila oocytes to define the anteroposterior axis |
| title_fullStr | Cortical microtubule nucleation can organise the cytoskeleton of Drosophila oocytes to define the anteroposterior axis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cortical microtubule nucleation can organise the cytoskeleton of Drosophila oocytes to define the anteroposterior axis |
| title_short | Cortical microtubule nucleation can organise the cytoskeleton of Drosophila oocytes to define the anteroposterior axis |
| title_sort | cortical microtubule nucleation can organise the cytoskeleton of drosophila oocytes to define the anteroposterior axis |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/99665 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8865-2369 |
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