Observation of nuclear division in Naegleria gruberi under fluorescence microscopy
Nakisah Mat Amin* and 1Keith Vickerman
Unit of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Professional Arts, Universiti Putra Malaysia Terengganu, Mengabang Telipot 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, 1Division of Environmental Evolutionary Biology, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK.
(Received 9 January 1998 / Accepted 23 February 1998)
Abstract.
A fluorescence technique has been employed to visualise nuclear division in Naegleria gruberi. The synchronously dividing Naegleria cells were stained with anti a-tubulin as a primay antibody and with a fluorescein isothiocyanate labelled goat anti mouse immunoglobin (FITC) as a secondary antibody. The cells were also stained with 4 1 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole DAP1) and propidium iodide (PI) to stain the nucleus. The results of this study indicated that by using anti (a tubulin, cytoplasmic microtubules; and mitotic spindles of Naegleria gruberi can be visualised under fluorescence microscopy. By this technique, a centrosome with associated microtubules was found to be present in the cytoplasm of Naegleria during nuclear division and this finding contradicts the previous idea that this organelle does not exist in Naegleria. The centrosome appeared to divide during prophase but it could not be detected later at metaphase telophase.
Keywords: Anti a tubulin, 4', 6 diamidino 2 phenylindole DAP1) Propidium Iodide (PI), Centrosome, Spindle Microtubules
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