Differential contribution of nuclear size scaling mechanisms between Xenopus species. (5th November 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Heijo, Hiroko; Merten, Christoph A.; Hara, Yuki
• Other Names: Michiue T. guestEditor.; Kato T. guestEditor.; Ochi H. guestEditor.; Zorn A. guestEditor.; Hayashi T. guestEditor.; Inoue T. guestEditor.; Kondo M. guestEditor.; Taira M. guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Development growth and differentiation. Volume 64:Number 9(2022)
• Page Start: 501
• Page End: 507
• Publication Date: 2022-11-05
• Subjects: egg extract -- microtubule -- nuclear import -- nuclear size -- Xenopus laevis -- Xenopus tropicalis; Embryology -- Periodicals; Developmental biology -- Periodicals; Growth -- Periodicals; 574.3
• DOI: 10.1111/dgd.12819
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0012-1592

Abstract

Abstract: Size of the nucleus, a membrane‐bound organelle for DNA replication and transcription in eukaryotic cells, varies to adapt nuclear functions to the surrounding environment. Nuclear size strongly correlates with cytoplasmic size and genomic content. Previous studies using Xenopus laevis have unraveled two modes, cytoplasmic and chromatin‐based mechanisms, for controlling nuclear size. However, owing to limited comparative analyses of the mechanisms among eukaryotic species, the contribution of each mechanism in controlling nuclear size has not been comprehensively elucidated. Here, we compared the relative contribution utilizing a cell‐free reconstruction system from the cytoplasmic extract of unfertilized eggs of Xenopus tropicalis to that of the sister species X. laevis . In this system, interphase nuclei were reconstructed in vitro from sperm chromatin and increased in size throughout the incubation period. Using extracts from X. tropicalis, growth rate of the reconstructed nuclei was decreased by obstructing the effective cytoplasmic space, decreasing DNA quantity, or inhibiting molecules involved in various cytoplasmic mechanisms. Although these features are qualitatively identical to that shown by the extract of X. laevis, the sensitivities of experimental manipulation for each cellular parameter were different between the extracts from two Xenopus species. These quantitative differences implied that the contribution of each mode to expansion of the nuclear envelope is coordinated in a species‐specific manner, which sets the species‐specific nuclear size for in vivo physiological function. Abstract : Mechanisms for controlling nuclear size are qualitatively conserved between the two Xenopus species, X. laevis and X. tropicalis . Using a cell‐free reconstructing system from egg cytoplasmic extract, we found that the degrees of the contribution of known two mechanisms differ between the two Xenopus species. Our novel findings certify that the contribution of multiple overlapping mechanisms to interphase nuclear growth should be coordinated to adapt to changes in the surrounding environment.