Oocyte Polarization Is Coupled to the Chromosomal Bouquet, a Conserved Polarized Nuclear Configuration in Meiosis.

ABSTRACT: The source of symmetry breaking in vertebrate oocytes is unknown. Animal-vegetal oocyte polarity is established by the Balbiani body (Bb), a conserved structure found in all animals examined that contains an aggregate of specific mRNAs, proteins, and organelles. The Bb specifies the oocyte vegetal pole, which is key to forming the embryonic body axes as well as the germline in most vertebrates. How Bb formation is regulated and how its asymmetric position is established are unknown. Using quantitative image analysis, we trace oocyte symmetry breaking in zebrafish to a nuclear asymmetry at the onset of meiosis called the chromosomal bouquet. The bouquet is a universal feature of meiosis where all telomeres cluster to one pole on the nuclear envelope, facilitating chromosomal pairing and mei

SUBMITTER: Elkouby YM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4704784 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature