Berlin 2018 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 15: Postersession III
BP 15.31: Poster
Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 14:00–16:00, Poster B
Growth dynamics of interphase nuclei during the early embryogenesis of Caenorhabditis elegans — •Rolf Fickentscher1, Akatsuki Kimura2, Tomoko Ozawa2, and Matthias Weiss1 — 1Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany — 2National Insitute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan
The nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio, i.e. the volume ratio of a cell’s nucleus and cytoplasm, is known to be crucial for proper development: It regulates the midblastula transition in certain species but it is also linked to a variety of pathophysiological processes. Yet, how nuclear size is regulated is poorly understood. Here, we have used the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate the dynamics of nuclear volumes during interphase in early blastomeres. We show that nuclei grow with an exponential scaling towards an asymptotic volume that correlates linearly with the total cell volume. This result suggests a limiting component to govern the asymptotic nuclear volumes. Yet, due to an inverse scaling of interphase duration and cell volume, these asymptotic volumes are frequently not reached in early blastomeres. Moreover, nuclear growth rates are independent of temperature but are anti-correlated with cell size, consistent with a diffusion-limited process governing the nuclear expansion. The variability between different embryos is exceptionally small, highlighting once more the superb reproducibility of the organism’s embryogenesis.