Repeated furrow formation from a single mitotic apparatus in cylindrical sand dollar eggs

Abstract

The methods used previously to demonstrate the ability of a single mitotic apparatus to elicit multiple furrows involved considerable cell distortion and did not permit the investigator to control the positioning of the parts or to observe satisfactorily the early stages of furrow development. In this investigation, Echinarachnius parma eggs were confined in 82 μm i.d. transparent, silicone rubber-walled capillaries, and the mitotic apparatus was moved by pushing the poles inward with 55-μm-diameter glass balls. When the mitotic apparatus was shifted immediately after the furrow first appeared, a new furrow appeared in the normal relation to the new position in 1–2 minutes. The same mitotic apparatus could elicit up to 13 furrows as it was shifted back and forth by alternately pushing in the poles. The previous furrow regressed as the new furrow developed. The operations protracted the furrow establishment period to as long as 24.5 minutes after establishment of the first furrow. The characteristics of furrow regression were related to the distance the mitotic apparatus was moved. It is unlikely that regression was caused either by stress imposed on the surface or the removal of the mitotic apparatus from the vicinity of the furrow.