Figures
The microtubule-associated kinase ZYG-8 tunes forces within the oocyte spindle
Assembling a bipolar spindle in oocytes is essential for successful reproduction, yet how these structures form is poorly understood. This study identified crucial roles for a microtubule-associated kinase, ZYG-8, in forming and stabilizing the C. elegans oocyte spindle, demonstrating that this protein helps to tune spindle forces. Shown are an experimentally-generated monopolar spindle (top left), and monopolar spindles in oocytes lacking ZYG-8 (green = microtubules; white = chromosomes). When ZYG-8 is depleted, outward forces are activated, resulting in sorting of microtubule minus ends (magenta) to the periphery of the monopolar spindle (top right) or restoration of spindle bipolarity (bottom). See Czajkowski et al. Download September’s cover page.
Image Credit: Emily Czajkowski, Sadie Wignall
Citation: (2024) PLoS Genetics Issue Image | Vol. 20(9) October 2024. PLoS Genet 20(9): ev20.i09. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pgen.v20.i09
Published: October 6, 2024
Copyright: © 2024 . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Assembling a bipolar spindle in oocytes is essential for successful reproduction, yet how these structures form is poorly understood. This study identified crucial roles for a microtubule-associated kinase, ZYG-8, in forming and stabilizing the C. elegans oocyte spindle, demonstrating that this protein helps to tune spindle forces. Shown are an experimentally-generated monopolar spindle (top left), and monopolar spindles in oocytes lacking ZYG-8 (green = microtubules; white = chromosomes). When ZYG-8 is depleted, outward forces are activated, resulting in sorting of microtubule minus ends (magenta) to the periphery of the monopolar spindle (top right) or restoration of spindle bipolarity (bottom). See Czajkowski et al. Download September’s cover page.
Image Credit: Emily Czajkowski, Sadie Wignall