Ultrastructure of meiosis and the spindle pole body cycle in freeze-substituted basidia of the smut fungi Ustilago maydis and Ustilago avenae

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 629-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry O'Donnell

Meiosis in the smut fungi Ustilago maydis and Ustilago avenae (Basidiomycota, Ustilaginales) was studied by electron microscopy of serial-sectioned freeze substituted basidia. At prophase I, a spindle pole body composed of two globular elements connected by a middle piece was attached to the extranuclear surface of each nucleus. Astral and spindle microtubules were initiated at each globular element at late prophase I to prometaphase I. During spindle initiation, the middle piece disappeared and interdigitating half-spindles entered the nucleoplasm, which was surrounded by discontinuous nuclear envelope together with perinuclear endoplasmic reticulum. Kinetochore pairs at metaphase I were analyzed to obtain a karyotype for each species. The meiotic spindle pole body replicational cycle is described. Key words: electron microscopy, freeze-substitution, meiosis, Ustilago, spindle pole body.

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 1795-1803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary L. Berbee ◽  
Robert Bauer ◽  
F. Oberwinkler

Freeze-substituted basidia of the smut fungus Microbotryum violaceum (Ustilaginales, Basidiomycotina) were examined electron microscopically with particular attention to the meiotic spindle pole body cycle and cytoplasmic characters of phylogenetic significance. Prophase basidia contained a subapical cluster of vesicles and tubules. During prophase, the spindle pole body consisted of two globular elements connected by a middle piece. The spindle pole body had an electron-opaque layer near the nucleus, and each globular element was bisected by an electron-opaque disk. The meiosis I spindle extended between two monoglobular, disc-containing spindle pole bodies. During interphase I and II, septa lacking pores divided the basidium between daughter nuclei. In interphase I, a putative new spindle pole body appeared between the nuclear envelope and the monoglobular spindle pole body residual from the first division. In meiosis II, a spindle was again established between two monoglobular spindle pole bodies, each of which again contained an electron-opaque disc. The cytoplasmic characters of M. violaceum are compared with those of Ustilago maydis and Sphacelotheca polygoni-serrulati. Key words: Microbotryum violaceum, basidiomycete, Ustilaginales, spindle pole body, freeze-substitution, ultrastructure.


2005 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Jin ◽  
Joel J. Mancuso ◽  
Satoru Uzawa ◽  
Daniela Cronembold ◽  
W. Zacheus Cande

2001 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 609-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Steinberg ◽  
R. Wedlich-Soldner ◽  
M. Brill ◽  
I. Schulz

Many fungal pathogens undergo a yeast-hyphal transition during their pathogenic development that requires rearrangement of the cytoskeleton, followed by directed membrane traffic towards the growth region. The role of microtubules and their dynamic behavior during this process is not well understood. Here we set out to elucidate the organization, cellular role and in vivo dynamics of microtubules in the dimorphic phytopathogen Ustilago maydis. Hyphae and unbudded yeast-like cells of U. maydis contain bundles of spindle pole body-independent microtubules. At the onset of bud formation two spherical tubulin structures focus microtubules towards the growth region, suggesting that they support polar growth in G(2), while spindle pole body-nucleated astral microtubules participate in nuclear migration in M and early G(1). Conditional mutants of an essential alpha-tubulin gene from U. maydis, tub1, confirmed a role for interphase microtubules in determination of cell polarity and growth. Observation of GFP-Tub1 fusion protein revealed that spindle pole body-independent and astral microtubules are dynamic, with elongation and shrinkage rates comparable to those found in vertebrate systems. In addition, very fast depolymerization was measured within microtubule bundles. Unexpectedly, interphase microtubules underwent bending and rapid translocations within the cell, suggesting that unknown motor activities participate in microtubule organization in U. maydis. Movies available on-line: http://www.biologists.com/JCS/movies/jcs1792.html


2005 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 439
Author(s):  
Ye Jin ◽  
Joel J. Mancuso ◽  
Satoru Uzawa ◽  
Daniela Cronembold ◽  
W. Zacheus Cande

2000 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 3525-3537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Straight ◽  
Thomas H. Giddings ◽  
Mark Winey

Sporulation in yeast requires that a modified form of chromosome segregation be coupled to the development of a specialized cell type, a process akin to gametogenesis. Mps1p is a dual-specificity protein kinase essential for spindle pole body (SPB) duplication and required for the spindle assembly checkpoint in mitotically dividing cells. Four conditional mutant alleles of MPS1disrupt sporulation, producing two distinct phenotypic classes. Class I alleles of mps1 prevent SPB duplication at the restrictive temperature without affecting premeiotic DNA synthesis and recombination. Class II MPS1 alleles progress through both meiotic divisions in 30–50% of the population, but the asci are incapable of forming mature spores. Although mutations in many other genes block spore wall formation, the cells produce viable haploid progeny, whereas mps1 class II spores are unable to germinate. We have used fluorescently marked chromosomes to demonstrate that mps1 mutant cells have a dramatically increased frequency of chromosome missegregation, suggesting that loss of viability is due to a defect in spindle function. Overall, our cytological data suggest that MPS1 is required for meiotic SPB duplication, chromosome segregation, and spore wall formation.


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 1412-1423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry O'donnell

Mitosis in the wheat pathogen Tilletia caries (Basidiomycota, Tilletiales) was investigated by electron microscopy of serially sectioned, fast-frozen, freeze-substituted mitotic cells called ballistospores. A duplicated spindle pole body consisting of two identical, three-layered globular elements connected by a middle piece was attached to the extranuclear face of each nucleus at interphase. During mitosis, astral and spindle microtubules radiated from the globular elements that form the poles of an intranuclear spindle. At metaphase, chromosomes were interspersed with the nonkinetochore microtubules, and they were spread along the central two-thirds of the spindle. Each chromatid was attached to a spindle pole by a single, continuous, kinetochore microtubule. Postmitotic replication of the spindle pole body occurred during late telophase to interphase. Results from this study are presented in the form of a model of the mitotic spindle pole body cycle in Tilletia, and this model is compared with the one previously reported for Tilletia and other basidiomycetes. Key words: electron microscopy, freeze substitution, mitosis, spindle pole body, Tilletia.


1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Bauer ◽  
Mary L. Berbee ◽  
Franz Oberwinkler

An electron microscopic study was made of meiosis and the meiotic spindle pole body (SPB) cycle in germinating teliospores of the smut fungus Sphacelotheca polygoni-serrulati. SPB development in prophase I and duplication in interphase I were studied in detail. During prophase, the globular elements of the biglobular SPB enlarged, became oblate in form, developed internal layering, and became associated with astral microtubules. The middle piece decreased in size and finally disappeared. Prior to metaphase I, the two oblate elements moved apart along the intact surface of the nuclear envelope, and the nuclear membrane bulged into the space between the two SPBs. Metaphase I – early telophase I and metaphase II – early telophase II SPBs were intranuclear, oblate spheroidal in shape, and traversed by an electron-dense disc. In interphase I, an electron-dense bar appeared in association with the nuclear side of the original SPB. The bar initially overlapped one edge of the electron-dense disc and later appeared at the side of the disc. The bar became one of the metaphase II SPBs. Similarities and differences between meiosis and SPBs in Sphacelotheca polygoni-serrulati, Ustilago maydis, Ustilago esculenta, Tilletia foetida, and other heterobasidiomycetes are discussed. Key words: heterobasidiomycetes, Ustilaginales, Sphacelotheca, meiosis, spindle pole body, ultrastructure.


2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Nickas ◽  
Cindi Schwartz ◽  
Aaron M. Neiman

ABSTRACT Spore formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae occurs via the de novo synthesis of the prospore membrane during the second meiotic division. Prospore membrane formation is triggered by assembly of a membrane-organizing center, the meiotic outer plaque (MOP), on the cytoplasmic face of the spindle pole body (SPB) during meiosis. We report here the identification of two new components of the MOP, Ady4p and Spo74p. Ady4p and Spo74p interact with known proteins of the MOP and are localized to the outer plaque of the SPB during meiosis II. MOP assembly and prospore membrane formation are abolished in spo74Δ/spo74Δ cells and occur aberrantly in ady4Δ/ady4Δ cells. Spo74p and the MOP component Mpc70p are mutually dependent for recruitment to SPBs during meiosis. In contrast, both Ady4p and Spo74p are present at SPBs, albeit at reduced levels, in cells that lack the MOP component Mpc54p. Our findings suggest a model for the assembled MOP in which Mpc54p, Mpc70p, and Spo74p make up a core structural unit of the scaffold that initiates synthesis of the prospore membrane, and Ady4p is an auxiliary component that stabilizes the plaque.


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