Muscle cell differentiation in ascidian embryos analysed with a tissue-specific monoclonal antibody

Utilizing a muscle-specific monoclonal antibody (Mu-2) as a probe, we analysed developmental mechanisms involved in muscle cell differentiation in ascidian embryos. The antigen recognized by Mu-2 was a single polypeptide with a relative molecular mass of about 220 X 10(3). It first appeared at the early tailbud stage and continued to be expressed until the swimming larva stage. There were distinct and separate puromycin and actinomycin D sensitivity periods during the occurrence of the antigen, suggesting the new synthesis of the polypeptide by developing muscle cells. Embryos that had been permanently arrested with aphidicolin in the early cleavage stages up to the 32-cell stage did not express the antigen. DNA replications may be required for the antigen expression. Embryos that had been arrested with cytochalasin B in the 8-cell and later stages developed the antigen, and the number and position of the arrested blastomeres exhibiting the differentiation marker almost corresponded to those of the B4.1-line muscle lineage. Furthermore, in quarter embryos developed from each blastomere pair isolated from the 8-cell embryo, all the B4.1 as well as a part of b4.2 partial embryos expressed the antigen, while the a4.2 and A4.1 partial embryos did not show the antigen expression. These results may provide further support for the existence of cytoplasmic determinants for muscle cell differentiation in this mosaic egg.