Heterogeneity in mitochondrial morphology and membrane potential is independent of the nuclear division cycle in multinucleate fungal cells.

ABSTRACT: In the multinucleate filamentous fungus Ashbya gossypii, nuclei divide asynchronously in a common cytoplasm. We hypothesize that the division cycle machinery has a limited zone of influence in the cytoplasm to promote nuclear autonomy. Mitochondria in cultured mammalian cells undergo cell cycle-specific changes in morphology and membrane potential and therefore can serve as a reporter of the cell cycle state of the cytoplasm. To evaluate if the cell cycle state of nuclei in A. gossypii can influence the adjacent cytoplasm, we tested whether local mitochondrial morphology and membrane potential in A. gossypii are associated with the division state of a nearby nucleus. We found that mitochondria exhibit substantial heterogeneity in both morphology and membrane potential within a single multi

SUBMITTER: Gerstenberger JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3294448 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature